Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) revealed that Overseas Filipinos\u2019 cash remittances hit $2.80 billion, up 2.7% year-on-year (YoY) and personal remittances reached $3.10 billion (+2.8% YoY) for the month of August. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This brings cash remittances from January to August 2023 to $21.58 billion (+2.8% YoY) and personal remittances to $24.01 billion (+2.9% YoY), driven by the increased receipts from both land- and sea-based workers. Notably, the United States, Singapore and Saudi Arabia were the main contributors to the increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our View: <\/strong>We do not see the Israel-Hamas conflict having any significant impact as OFW remittances coming from those working in Israel amounted to only $74.40 million – accounting for a mere 0.3% of the total cash remittances during the eight-month period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also noteworthy that August saw the fastest remittance expansion in three months. Based on the BSP\u2019s 3Q 2023 Consumer Expectations Survey (CES), families that are dependent on an Overseas Filipino member typically use their remittances to pay for food and other household needs (96.3%), education (61.4%),
medical expenses (51.2%) and then set aside a little for savings (37.3%). With that, the higher remittance figure will indeed provide Filipinos with the relief and support they need given the current inflationary environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n