Money sent home by Filipinos working overseas rose 2.7 percent in August 2023 to $2.80 billion from $2.72 billion a year ago.
It was the fastest remittance expansion in three months, latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed Monday.
“The growth in cash remittances during the month was due primarily to increased receipts from both land- and sea-based workers,” the BSP said in a statement.
This brought the cumulative cash remittances from January to August to $21.58 billion, or 2.8 percent higher than $20.99 billion in the same period last year.
“The growth in cash remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia and Singapore contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in the first eight months of 2023,” the BSP said.
The US had the highest share of overall remittances during the period, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
Personal remittances, which include non-cash items, also increased 2.8 percent to $3.10 billion in August from $3.02 billion in the same month of the previous year.
“The growth in personal remittances in August 2023 was driven by increased remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more, and sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year,” it said.
The total amount of personal remittances in the first eight months reached $24.01 billion, 2.9 percent higher than $23.34 billion a year earlier.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said remittances from OFWs in the Middle East would not be significantly impacted by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas militants that started Oct. 7.
Remittances from OFWs working in Israel reached $66.7 million from January to July this year, representing 0.5 percent of the total remittances for the period.
Remittances from Israel amounted to $110.6 million or 0.3 percent of the total in 2022, Ricafort said, citing data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
He said “there might be some reduction of new OFW deployment” because of the conflict.
“The impact on remittances could be manageable since there are many caregivers/domestic helpers in Israel and in nearby Middle Eastern countries,” Ricafort said.
There are about 30,000 Filipinos in Israel, according to government estimates.
Cash remittances rose 3.6 percent to a record $32.54 billion in 2022 from $31.42 billion in 2021 on sustained demand for skilled Filipino workers overseas.
The Bangko Sentral expects remittances to grow 3 percent in 2023.