051607: 1st-qtr OFW inflows grow 24%; March hits $1.3B

By Jun Vallecera

Reporter

THE number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) sending back earnings to their families at home had actually contracted nearly 11 percent in the first three months, and yet the volume of dollars went up by 24 percent year-on-year to $3.5 billion. In March alone, the inflows hit $1.3 billion and approximated the level of the previous December, when millions of OFWs remitted more than the usual amount for the Christmas holidays. “Remittances of OFWs coursed through banks remained above $1 billion for the 11th straight month since May 2006,” said Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor Amando Tetangco Jr. on Tuesday. These first-quarter inflows, in addition to the relief investors felt over the relatively peaceful mid-term election, helped push the value of the peso to a six-year high of P46.95 per dollar at the Philippine Dealing System and eventually averaged P47.06 on transactions totaling $608.7 million. “I think the market believes that (Monday’s) generally peaceful exercise would further support the country’s sound macroeconomic fundamentals. The continued influx of OFW remittances and dollar inflows into the stock market buoyed the peso further,” said Tetangco. The downside is these foreign exchange inflows could push up inflation, thus, the BSP has put in place counterinflation measures that could dampen liquidity growth “to below 20 percent” a month or two from now. Domestic liquidity or M3 has been growing by 23 or 24 percent since December 2006, according to the BSP.

 

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/05162007/headlines010.html