The Philippines’ balance of payments position reverted to a deficit in April on the back of the government’s settlement of some of its foreign currency debt.Data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that the country’s BOP position stood at a shortfall of $639 million last month, a reversal from the $1.173-billion surplus seen in March.This was also higher than the $148-million BOP deficit seen in the same month last year.
The BOP gap in April brought the year-to-date payments position to stand at a $401-million deficit, a turnaround from the $3.3-billion surplus recorded in the January-to-April-2023 period.“Based on preliminary data, this cumulative BOP deficit reflected mainly the national government’s repayments of its foreign loans coupled with the continued trade in goods deficit,” the central bank said, noting that the trade deficit for January to March reached $11.2 billion, down from $14.