Current Account Surplus Continues To Dwindle in 2Q 2016

Economic Research	19 September 2016
Philippines
Economic Highlights
Current Account Surplus Continues To Dwindle in 2Q 2016 The Philippines’ current account in the balance of payments registered a lower surplus of USD0.1bn or 0.1% of GDP in 2Q 2016, falling from a surplus of USD0.7bn or 1.0% of GDP in 1Q and compared with USD1.5bn or 1.8% of GDP in 4Q 2015. This was due largely to a larger merchandise trade deficit and a lower surplus in services account but mitigated by a larger surplus in secondary income account. Meanwhile, primary income stabilized during the quarter. As the trade deficit in 1H 2016 was worse than expected, we revise down our projection for 2016 to a lower current account surplus of USD1.6bn or 0.5% of GDP, from the previous projected surplus of USD5.8bn or 1.9% of GDP and a surplus of USD8.4bn or 2.9% of GDP recorded in 2015. Economist:  Rizki Fajar  | +6221 2970 7065
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