The country’s balance of payments’ position swung to a deficit of $123 million in November from the $1.47-billion surplus a year ago, as the government settled some of its foreign debt, latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show.
“The BOP deficit in November 2021 reflected outflows arising mainly from the national government’s foreign currency withdrawals from its deposits with the BSP as the national government settled its foreign currency debt obligations and paid for various expenditures,” the BSP said in a statement Tuesday.
It said that despite the deficit in November, the cumulative BOP level in the first 11 months registered a surplus of $353 million, lower than the $11.79-billion surplus recorded in the same period last year.
The cumulative BOP surplus reflected inflows such as from personal remittances, trade in services, net foreign borrowings by the national government and foreign direct investments, which were partly offset by a wider trade in goods deficit.
