Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos dropped by 1.7% to $2.895 billion in January 2021 compared to the $2.944 billion in the same month in 2020, latest figures from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

The 3-month low marks a wobbly start for remittances, which helped support the Philippine economy undergoing a recession.

The decline in personal remittances in January was attributed to the 2.4% drop in remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more to $2.2 billion. 

Remittances from sea-based workers and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year inched up by 1% to $609 million.

Similarly, remittances coursed through banks went down by 1.7% to $2.603 billion.

By country source, the United States registered the highest share to total remittances at 40.9%, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, United Kingdom, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

Remittances fell by 0.8% in 2020, less than what most analysts expected. The BSP expects remittances to bounce back by 4% in 2021. – Rappler.com