Maniolas

In August, cash remittances coursed through banks dipped 0.6 percent to $2.04 billion. File photo MANILA, Philippines – The US dollar’s strength is cutting through remittance earnings of overseas Filipinos, but the recent drop in inflows could prove to be “temporary,” the chief economist of the Department of Finance said. “Overseas remittances will continue to be a positive factor in Philippine GDP (gross domestic product) growth and recent slowdown may be temporary as the US dollar strengthens,” Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said on Thursday. In August, cash remittances coursed through banks dipped 0.6 percent to $2.04 billion, the first monthly drop recorded in 12 years. For the first eight months though, inflows remained up 4.1 percent year-on-year. In an economic bulletin, Beltran said the dollar’s recent appreciation against major currencies lowered the value of remittances sent by Filipinos to their families. The greenback, he said, is garnering strength from expectations that the US Federal Reserve would hike key rates before the year ends. On Wednesday, the Fed kept its near-zero policy rates steady after its two-day meet. “If remittances were valued in respective local currencies, growth would have been double-digit or close to double-digit in many countries,” Beltran pointed out. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 That includes countries “mired in recession, except Italy, and the petroleum exporters which were adversely affected by steep oil price drop,” he added. A strong dollar strips the value of remittances in other currencies if the value being sent remains constant. Read More …

From January to September, Customs raked in P268.229 billion. File photo MANILA, Philippines – Depressed import prices pulled down the Bureau of Customs’s revenue collections by more than a fifth last month, although the agency remained optimistic it could meet its target by year-end. In a statement on Thursday, Customs said it collected P32.65 billion in September, down 0.8 percent from last year’s P32.9 billion. The bureau was also down by 20.6 percent against that month’s P41.109-billion target. The figures are based on the final tally for September. Last week, preliminary figures obtained by The STAR showed the bureau collected P32.1 billion in September. “Overall, the decline in collection was driven by a drop in the total value of imports,” Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina was quoted in the statement as saying. From January to September, Customs raked in P268.229 billion, up 0.9 percent year-on-year, but below the P314.171-billion target for the first three quarters.

THE GOVERNMENT’S full-year forecast of a $2-billion surplus in balance of payments (BoP) remains within reach, the central bank chief said, while noting some revisions to initial data for adjustments on trade and portfolio investments.

CONGRESS is prepared to pass a measure that will enact a fresh round of salary increases for government workers by 2016, a senior lawmaker said, as they await a final scheme to be approved by Malacañang.