Personal remittances — personal transfers, whether in cash or kind, and capital transfers between households — hit $2.94 billion, up 7.3 percent from $2.74 billion a year earlier but down 5.82 percent from $3.21 billion in December 2019. The amount was the lowest recorded since November last year, when remittances reached $2.63 billion. “The combined remittances from these countries accounted for almost 80 percent of total cash remittances,” the BSP said. Last year, remittances hit an all-time high of $33.46 billion, a 3.9-percent increase from the $32.21 billion in 2018. “OFW remittances could also be adversely affected in countries hard-hit by the coronavirus due to reduced employment/job prospects,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. economist Michael Ricafort said.

Source: Manila Times March 16, 2020 17:15 UTC