THE country's balance of payments (BOP) had a posted a surplus of USD642 million as of December last year.

According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), it said that there is a surplus last month which posted a USD612-million surplus in December 2022.

"The BOP surplus in December 2023 reflected inflows arising mainly from the National Government’s (NG) net foreign currency deposits with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), net income from the BSP’s investments abroad, and the BSP’s net foreign exchange operations," the BSP said.

According to the  full-year 2023, the BOP position posted a surplus of USD3.7 billion, reversing the USD7.3 billion deficit in 2022.

"Based on preliminary data, this development reflected mainly the improvement in the balance of trade alongside the higher net inflows from personal remittances, trade in services, and foreign borrowings by the NG," the BSP noted.

"Further, net inflows from foreign direct investments contributed to the surplus, albeit lower during the period," it added.

The BOP is a summary of the economic transactions of a country with the rest of the world for a specific period.