PH remittance growth hit 3-mo low in Jan 2025
Money sent home by Filipinos overseas posted their slowest growth in three months in January, as expats recalibrated their remittances after making big cash transfers during the holiday season.
Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed cash remittances coursed through banks went up by 2.9 percent year-on-year to $2.92 billion in the first month of 2025.
This was the slowest growth in remittances since October 2024, when such inflows had expanded by 2.7 percent.
But the January clip was nevertheless consistent with the BSP’s forecast of a 3-percent growth in remittances this year.
Reinielle Matt Erece, an economist at Oikonomia Advisory & Research Inc., said the softer increase in cash transfers was expected after the Christmas shopping season—which historically sees strong remittance growth—came to an end.
“The slowdown of remittances is expected as the holiday season came to a close. Remittances typically surge during the Christmas season as families celebrate the holidays,” Erece said.
The BSP said inflows from Saudi Arabia, United States, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates mainly contributed to the increase in remittances in January.
Trade wars
The United States was the largest source of such inflows after cornering a 41.2 percent share, although there are some limitations with this data as remittances are typically coursed through correspondent banks, most of which are located stateside.
Singapore (7.5 percent) and Saudi Arabia (6.6 percent) were the next biggest sources of remittances.
Moving forward, Oikonomia’s Erece said the controversial policies of US President Donald Trump and the peso’s reaction to various global developments would likely dictate the flow of remittances this year.
“This year, if global economic uncertainty persists due to trade wars and geopolitical tensions, remittances might slow down as OFWs try to mitigate the risks of higher living costs abroad,” he said.
