By Katherine K. Chan, A reporter
MONEY SENT HOME at the endoverseas Filipino workers (OFW) dropped to the lowest level in six months in November, reported the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Preliminary central bank data released on Thursday showed that remittances 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 marked the fastest pace in two months or from 3.7% in September.
Meanwhile, remittances fell 8.2% from $3.171 billion in October.
“November’s dip is a matter of time,” said Jonathan L. Ravelas, senior consultant at Reyes Tacandong & Co., in a Viber message. “A lot of holiday money had already been sent in October, which is why we saw that month heavy in remittances – in part because of pre-holiday transfers and hurricane-related aid being front-loaded.”
Mr. Ravelas noted that the month-to-month dip was not a “red flag” as it is a common trend seen before the release of remittances in December.
In November, land-based OFWs sent home total remittances, which increased by 3.6% year-on-year to $2.303 billion.
Income from offshore workers also grew 3.6% year-on-year to $606.592 million in November.
BSP data also showed that personal remittances, which include both remittances through banks and informal channels and remittances, rose 3.6% to $3.235 billion in November from $3.121 billion last year.
Chief Economist of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said that the movement in the foreign trade market is probably what caused the annual increase in remittances.
In November, the peso touched the P59-per-dollar level several times. It even closed at P59.17 against the greenback on Nov. 12, breaking the previous record of P59.13 seen on October 28.
“Despite this development, remittances have proven to be a strong and reliable source of FX (foreign exchange) while also translating into healthy purchasing power that is likely to help drive holiday spending,” Mr Mapa said in a Viber message.
11 MONTHS TO GROW
As of November, remittances from Filipino migrants reached $32.111 billion, up 3.2% from $31.113 billion in the same period in 2024.
Remittances from overseas workers grew 3.3% year-on-year to $25.66 billion at the end of November, while OFW remittances rose 2.8% to $6.45 billion.
On the other hand, personal remittances in 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 leading source of remittances to the Philippines between January-November 2025, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia,” the BSP said in a statement.
Based on BSP data, remittances 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 remittances at the end of November with 41.9% of total remittances. Others came from Saudi Arabia (8%), Singapore (6.4%), the United Arab Emirates (5.7%) and the UK (4.5%).
Meanwhile, 32.2% of remittances by offshore workers came from the US, followed by Singapore (10.2%), Japan (7.1%), Germany (5.5%) and the UK (5.4%).
The BSP expects remittances to grow by 3% to $35.5 billion this year.
