The balance of payments (BOP) position registered a surplus of $568 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, although lower than the $2.0 billion surplus recorded in the same period in 2021.

The BOP surplus declined due to lower net inflows (or net borrowing by residents from the rest of the world) in the financial account amounting to $1.6 billion vis-a-vis the $5.7 billion net inflows in the fourth quarter of 2021.

This was largely on account of the other investment account’s reversal to net outflows coupled with the decline in net inflows of direct investments.

Meanwhile, the current account reversed to a surplus of $561 million (equivalent to 0.5 percent of the country's GDP) from the $3.7 billion deficit (equivalent to -3.3 percent of the country’s GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2021.

This was due mainly from the narrowing of the deficit in the trade in goods account, combined with the increase in net receipts in the trade in services, primary income, and the secondary income accounts.

The full year BOP position recorded a deficit of $7.3 billion in 2022, a reversal from the $1.3 billion surplus in the previous year.

This outcome was primarily due to a wider current account deficit of $17.8 billion (equivalent to -4.4 percent of GDP) compared to the $5.9 billion deficit (equivalent to -1.5 percent of GDP) recorded in the same period last year, which in turn was the result of a higher trade in goods deficit.

Meanwhile, the financial account posted higher net inflows of $12.6 billion in 2022 from the $6.4 billion net inflows recorded in the previous year.

This was mainly due to the reversal of the portfolio investment account to net inflows. The increase in inflows, however, was muted by the drop in net inflows of direct and other investments.

Gross international reserves (GIR) settled at $96.1 billion as of end-December 2022, lower than the $108.8 billion level registered as of end-December 2021.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the peso averaged at P57.39/US$1, depreciating by 1.8 percent relative to an average of P56.36/US$1 in Q3 2022.

Likewise, the peso depreciated by 12.1 percent year-on-year from an average of P50.45/$1 in the fourth quarter of 2021. For full year 2022, the peso averaged at P54.48/$1, depreciating against the US dollar by 9.6 percent from an average of P49.25/$1 in 2021. BSP