MONEY sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) hit a nine-month low in February this year, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed on Tuesday.
At $3.02 billion, personal remittances for the month fell from $3.24 billion in January. It was slightly higher than the $2.95 billion recorded in the same month last year, but was also the lowest since May 2024's $2.88 billion.
Year to date, remittances rose to $6.27 billion, up 2.7 percent from the $6.10 billion recorded in January-February 2024.
Of the February result, money sent home via banks totaled $2.72 billion, 2.7 percent more than the $2.65 billion posted in February 2024 but lower than January's $2.92 billion.
The US continued to account for the biggest share of overall remittances at 40.9 percent, followed by Singapore at 7.6 percent; Saudi Arabia, 6.0 percent; Japan, 5.2 percent; and the United Kingdom, 4.8 percent.
Rounding out the top 10 were the United Arab Emirates (4.0 percent), Canada (3.2 percent), Taiwan (2.9 percent), Qatar (2.8 percent), and Hong Kong (2.6 percent).
Sought for comment, Philippine Institute for Development Studies Senior Research Fellow John Paolo Rivera said the decline was due to the usual slowdown after the holiday season and "Slower global growth and labor market adjustments in key host economies might have also tempered remittance flows," he added.
"Moving forward, remittances are likely to remain resilient, supported by stable overseas employment and the continued demand for OFWs. However, geopolitical risks, currency volatility, and potential slowdowns in advanced economies may keep growth moderate in the coming months."
