OFW remittances totaled $2.609 billion for the month, 5.7 percent higher than the $2.469 billion which the country received in May 2018.
Overseas Filipino workers sent home more money in May to hit a five-month high, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.
Nicholas Antonio Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank, said the surge in remittance inflows provides"a solid and dependable source of both foreign currency and potent purchasing power," as this boosts household spending that will also spur economic growth. "We see this as a positive development since higher remittances also increase domestic consumption on imported and other taxable products while inflation tapers off — the improvement in vehicle sales last month may be proof of this. It should also keep residential property sales strong," Roces said in a commentary sent to journalists.
May's spike brought the five-month remittance tally to $13.7 billion, which is 4.1 percent higher than the $13.2 billion wired by OFWs during the same period in 2018. This is already faster than the 3 percent growth forecast of the central bank for 2019 remittances.
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