MONEY sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) hit a six-month low in November last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Wednesday.
Remittances came in at $3.12 billion, 3.5 percent higher than the year-earlier $3.02 billion, but down from the $3.42 billion seen in October and also the lowest since May 2024’s $2.88 billion.
The November result, the BSP said in a statement, was driven by “remittances from both land-based and sea-based workers.”
It brought cumulative remittances for January-November 2024 to $34.61 billion, 3.0 percent higher than the $33.59 billion recorded in the comparable 2023 period.
Money sent home via banks alone totaled $2.81 billion in November, 3.3 percent higher than the $2.72 billion recorded a year earlier but lower than October’s 3.08 billion.
Year to date, cash remittances were 3.0 percent higher at $31.11 billion from $30.21 billion. The same growth rate was likely maintained for the full year, the BSP said.
By country source, the US continued to account for the biggest share (40.9 percent) of cash remittances, followed by Singapore (7.1 percent), Saudi Arabia (6.3 percent), Japan (5.0 percent) and the United Kingdom (4.7 percent).
Rounding out the top 10 were the United Arab Emirates (4.4 percent), Canada (3.5 percent), Qatar (2.9 percent), Taiwan (2.8 percent) and South Korea (2.5 percent).
Sought for comment, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said remittances slowed partly because of higher inflation and living costs in OFW host countries, leaving workers less money to send home.
He added that the recent peso depreciation also meant fewer dollars were needed to cover expenses back home in the Philippines, further affecting remittances.
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