The Philippines recorded a $2.28-billion balance of payments (BOP) deficit in February 2026, as capital outflows outweighed inflows, reversing a surplus from a year ago, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data showed.
The latest figure is a sharp turnaround from the $3.09-billion surplus seen in February 2025 and is wider than the $373-million deficit posted in January. The cumulative position in the first two months of 2026 reached $2.65-billion deficit.
UnionBank of the Philippines chief economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion said the wider gap reflected heavier capital and financial account outflows and the absence of one-off foreign currency inflows from the government and the central bank seen last year.
“This was compounded by seasonally strong import payments and profit remittances early in the year, rather than a deterioration in the country’s external fundamentals,” Asuncion said.
Reyes Tacandong & Co. senior adviser Jonathan Ravelas attributed the deeper deficit to rising import costs and cautious investor sentiment.
“The February BOP deficit was largely driven by higher import costs—especially oil—combined with softer capital inflows as investors stayed cautious. A weaker peso added to the pressure by making imports more expensive,” Ravelas said.
Despite the deficit, the BSP reported that gross international reserves rose to $113.3 billion as of end-February 2026. This provides an external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.5 months of imports of goods, service payments and primary income. The reserve level covers about 4.3 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.
Ravelas said the BOP performance might remain volatile amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and currency fluctuations.
“Steady OFW remittances, services exports and BSP vigilance should help cushion the shock and prevent a prolonged external imbalance,” he said.
