The country posted a balance of payments surplus of $219 million in September, a reversal of the $450-million deficit in August, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Monday.
Data showed the September surplus was also higher than the $98-million surplus recorded in the same period last year.
The figure brought the BoP position to a surplus of $1.8 billion in the first nine months, improving from the $3.4-billion deficit a year ago.
BoP summarizes the country’s economic transactions with the rest of the world, with a surplus indicating that foreign exchange inflows exceeding outflows.
Persistent surpluses help build up the country’s gross international reserves, an ample supply of which helps support the value of the peso against other currencies.
The peso closed at 46.07 against the US dollar on Monday, slightly weaker than Friday’s 46.05.
Bangko Sentral said it was expecting a BoP surplus of $2 billion in 2015, taking into account the improvement in the global economy.
Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo earlier said the bank remained optimistic about sustaining a BoP surplus this year, on the back of a strong current account.
The current account registered a surplus of $2.8 billion in the second quarter alone, data showed. This was partially offset by the financial account, which yielded net outflows.
Guinigundo said as a result, the country’s gross international reserves increased to $80.6 billion in the second quarter from $80.5 billion in the first quarter.
Guinigundo said the latest action of the US Federal Reserve of maintaining interest rates in September could have an impact on the financial markets, as “the cloud of uncertainty still remains.”
BoP incurred a $2.858-billion deficit in 2014, amid the global uncertainties. It was also the first time in nine years that the BoP ended in the negative territory.