Philippine cash remittance went up 4.2 pct in February

Cash remittances went up 4.2 percent to 1.88 billion U.S. dollars in February from the same period last year on sustained demand for Filipino workers abroad, according to The Bangko Sentral ng Philipinas (BSP), the country's central bank, on Wednesday.

This brought the two-month tally to 3.69 billion U.S. dollars or 2.4 percent higher than the 3.60 billion U.S. dollars recorded in the same period in 2014.

The BSP said bulk of the funds were sent from the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and Canada.

"The steady deployment of OF (overseas Filipino) workers remained a key driver in the sustained inflows of remittances," the BSP said.

Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showed job orders as of February reached 164,525, of which 26.5 percent were intended for service, production, and professional, technical and related workers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

The BSP added continuous expansion of remittance services abroad support the steady inflow of remittances.

The central bank data also showed personal remittances, which include cash and non-cash items, increased four percent to 2.08 billion U.S. dollars in February, bringing the two-month total to 4.09 billion U.S. dollars. Endi