THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas revised upward the balance of payments projection this year to a deficit of $5.5 billion, significantly higher than the previous assumption of a $1.5-billion gap in May, on the back of bigger current account shortfall.
The revision is expected to result in the gross international reserves ending 2018 at $76 billion, lower than the previous estimate of $80 billion for the year.
Data showed the current account, one of the main components of the balance of payments, yielded a deficit of $6.5 billion in the first three quarters, a turnaround from the $968-million surplus registered in the same period last year.
“This development was brought about primarily by the continued widening deficit in the trade-in-goods account despite the higher net receipts posted in trade-in-services, primary and secondary income accounts,” Bangko Sentral said.
The BoP position registered a higher deficit of $1.9 billion in the third quarter from a $662-million shortfall in the same quarter a year ago.