BSP sees sharp rise in 2018 BoP deficithome/Business/Top Business/BSP sees sharp rise in 2018 BoP deficitThe balance of payments deficit will widen significantly this year given the economy’s import requirements, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced on Friday. A higher current account deficit could lead to an overall BoP shortfall of $5.5 billion, officials said in a briefing, much higher than the previous forecast of $1.5 billion and equivalent to 1.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The current account consists of transactions in goods, services, primary income and secondary income, and measures the net transfer of real resources between the domestic economy and the rest of the world. Central bank Assistant Governor Francisco Dakila Jr., meanwhile, said the Philippines would not see “any widening of the current account to unsustainale levels.”“Looking forward, we have already seen a normalization of oil prices. The reversal of the current account to a deficit resulted in a BoP gap of $5.136 billion, higher than the $1.367 billion deficit registered in the same period last year.

Source: Manila Times December 14, 2018 16:52 UTC