By Katherine K. chan, reporter
money sent homeThe Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that the number of Filipino workers (OFWs) fell to its lowest level in six months in November.
Preliminary central bank data released on Thursday showed that cash remittances through banks rose 3.6% to $2.91 billion from $2.808 billion in the same month in 2024.
This was the lowest level of remittances recorded in six months or since $2.658 billion in May.
In terms of growth, November recorded the fastest pace in two months or so since September at 3.7%.
Meanwhile, remittances declined 8.2% from $3.171 billion in October.
Jonathan L. Reyes, a senior consultant at Tacundong & Co. “The November decline is really just a timing story,” Ravelas said in a Viber message. “A lot of the holiday money had already been sent in October, which is why we saw that month heavy with remittances – partly due to pre-holiday transfers and even hurricane-related aid.”
Mr Ravelas said the month-on-month decline was not a “red flag” as it was a normal trend seen before remittances surged in December.
In November, land-based OFWs sent home huge amounts of cash remittances, increasing 3.6% year-on-year to P2.303 billion.
Remittances sent by sea-based workers also rose 3.6% year-on-year to $606.592 million in November.
BSP data also showed that personal remittances, which include both cash and in-kind remittances through banks and informal channels, rose 3.6% to $3.235 billion in November from $3.121 billion in the previous year.
Nicolas Antonio T. Mapa, chief economist at Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., said fluctuations in the foreign exchange market are likely to dampen the annual increase in remittances.
In November, the peso touched the P59-per-dollar level several times. On November 12, it closed at P59.17 against the greenback, breaking the previous record of P59.13 seen on October 28.
“Despite this development, remittances proved to be a solid and reliable source of FX (foreign exchange), also translating into healthy purchasing power, which helped drive holiday spending,” Mr Mapa said in a Viber message.
11 month climb
As of November, cash remittances from overseas Filipinos reached $32.111 billion, an increase of 3.2% from $31.113 billion during the same period in 2024.
Remittances from land-based workers rose 3.3% year-on-year to $25.66 billion as of end-November, while sea-based OFW remittances rose 2.8% to $6.45 billion.
On the other hand, personal remittances over the 11-month period stood at $35.727 billion, up 3.2% from $34.608 billion at the end of November 2024.
“The United States remained the top source of remittances to the Philippines during January-November 2025, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia,” the BSP said in a statement.
Based on BSP data, money sent home from the US accounted for 40% of remittances in the 11 months to November.
Inflows from Singapore accounted for 7.1% of total remittances, followed by Saudi Arabia (6.4%), Japan (5%), United Kingdom (4.6%), United Arab Emirates (4.6%), Canada (3.5%), Qatar (2.9%), Taiwan (2.8%) and South Korea (2.4%).
The US was the top source of land-based remittances at the end of November with 41.9% of total remittances. The rest came from Saudi Arabia (8%), Singapore (6.4%), UAE (5.7%) and the UK (4.5%).
Meanwhile, 32.2% of the money received from sea-based workers was from the US, followed by Singapore (10.2%), Japan (7.1%), Germany (5.5%) and the UK (5.4%).
The BSP expects cash remittances to grow 3% this year to $35.5 billion.