MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ balance of payments (BOP) deficit swelled to $3.14 billion in September, the largest monthly shortfall since January 2025, as the country’s external position continued to be weighed down by a trade gap and foreign portfolio outflows.
Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed the September deficit was more than five times the $596-million shortfall recorded in August. It was also a reversal of the $82-million surplus posted in September last year.
The BOP is the country’s running record of economic transactions with the rest of the world, including trade, investments, remittances and government financing. A deficit means foreign currency outflows exceeded inflows during the period.
This brought the cumulative BOP deficit to $9.09 billion from January to September, up by 71 percent from the $5.32-billion shortfall in the same period last year.
The BSP said the year-to-date deficit reflected the continued trade-in-goods gap, meaning the Philippines imported more goods than it exported, as well as net outflows from foreign portfolio investments.
These pressures were partly offset by sustained inflows from personal remittances of overseas Filipinos, government foreign borrowings, trade in services and foreign direct investments.
UnionBank chief economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion said the wider September BOP deficit reflected a larger trade gap, higher import and external debt payments and weaker capital flows amid persistent global uncertainty.
With the year-to-date shortfall already at $9.09 billion, Asuncion said a full-year surplus has become highly unlikely, shifting attention to whether the deficit could exceed official projections.
Still, he said the latest figures do not necessarily point to fundamental weakness in the external sector, as structural foreign exchange inflows from remittances, business process outsourcing revenues and tourism continue to provide support.
Meanwhile, the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) fell below the $100-billion mark to $99.49 billion as of end-September, down by 5.1 percent from $104.85 billion in August. The latest level was also 8.8 percent lower than the $109.06 billion recorded a year earlier.
GIR consists of foreign assets held by the BSP, including securities, foreign currency deposits, gold and special drawing rights. These reserves provide the country with foreign currency to pay for imports and external debt and help cushion the economy during periods of financial stress.
The BSP attributed the September decline mainly to its net foreign exchange operations, lower valuations of its gold holdings and foreign currency-denominated reserve assets, government withdrawals for external debt servicing and other net foreign currency withdrawals.
Despite the decline, the central bank said the reserve level remained sufficient to cover 6.2 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments for services and primary income.