|
DESPITE global credit crunch that tempers foreign exchange inflows,
the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas remains confident of attaining a
dollar surplus at the end of the year.
Deputy BSP Gov. Diwa C. Guinigundo said the
Monetary authorities expect the country to end this year with a
surplus of $3.4 billion, or less than half of last year’s $8.576
billion.
“Right now, it’s still $3.4 billion. I think
it’s still realistic,” Guinigundo told reporters.
He added the central bank expects there will be
some shifting from current account to capital or capital to current.
“Net shifting of accounts, numbers in current
account maybe good, while capital is bad. But the overall BOP
remains $3.4 billion,” Guinigundo said.
BSP data showed that the country’s BOP surplus
rose to $499 million in April, causing the first four months’
dollar surplus to hit $2.134 billion, higher than the $1.700 billion
in the same period last year.
Recent foreign exchange inflows consisted mainly
of the government’s deposit of the proceeds from a $329.9-million
Asian Development Bank loan for local government financing and
budget reform.
In April, the country’s gross international
reserves rose slightly to $36.7 billion from the previous month’s
$36.6 billion. This was partly due to a slowdown in foreign exchange
inflows on account of risk aversion, which drove investors away from
emerging markets like the Philippines.
Foreigners remained net sellers of local stocks
and other peso-denominated assets, as higher inflation last month
spooked investors. Price increases accelerated to a three-year high
of 8.3 percent last month, pushing the four-month average to 6.2
percent, or well above the BSP’s full-year target of 3 percent to
5 percent.
The central bank said net portfolio investments
registered an outflow of $49.89 million in April, a reversal from
the net inflows of $261.85 million last year.
The bulk of the foreign portfolio investments in
April went to shares listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)
at 62 percent or $547.6 million.
Placements in peso time deposits accounted for
24 percent while investments in fixed rate treasury bonds made up 14
percent.
-- Chino S. Leyco
|
