The amount of money overseas Filipinos send through formal channels is forecast to keep rising but at a slower pace this year, according to First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P). "We believe that remittances will continue to be resilient in 2012 with a 5 to 7 percent improvement, especially with the recent lifting of deployment ban to Afghanistan and the previous announcement of sending more nurses to Japan as part of the JPEPA," the latest FMIC-UA&P Market Call said. But their 2012 forecast is a percentage point lower than the 6 percent to 8 percent they had forecast for 2011. Last year’s totals have not yet been compiled, with the latest data spanning only 10 months and reflecting a new monthly record of $1.78 billion in October replacing the previous $1.737 billion in June. The 2011 figures seemed on track to meet the Market Call forecast as the $16.534 billion posted in the first 10 months’ showed a 7 percent increase from $15.456 billion in January-to-October 2010. Market Call noted that the quarterly growth rates in 2011 versus 2010 were lower by about a percentage point. In peso terms, remittances as of end-October grew at a slower pace of 2.2 percent from 2.4 percent year-on-year. The decline was traced to the 4.5 percent appreciation of the peso against the dollar. The exchange rate this year is expected to range between P43 to P45 per dollar, from the P43.31 average last year. In 2010, the average rate was P45.10. The $16.534 billion remitted in the 10 months to October 2011 were converted to P716.2 billion, which helped sustain consumer spending, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and National Statistical Coordination Board. — ELR/VS, GMA News
Download our free toolbar here
