MANILA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The Philippine central bank said
on Friday the country's current account deficit will widen next
year, with the trade gap broadening as the government imports
goods for an overhaul of infrastructure under President Rodrigo
Duterte.
The current account deficit next year is projected at $8.4
billion, or 2.1% of gross domestic product, versus an expected
$5.6 billion, in 2019, Dennis Lapid, director of the central
bank's economic research department, told a news conference.
Exports, weighed down by U.S.-China trade tensions, are
likely to pick up by 4% next year from 1% growth this year, but
imports growth will accelerate faster, at 8% in 2020 from 2% in
2019, central bank data showed.
Imports growth is underpinned by the inbound shipment of
goods and capital equipment, Lapid said.
The current account, which measures, among other things,
trade-in-goods, has been in deficit since 2017. But it should be
amply covered by receipts from remittances and business process
outsourcing sector, the central bank said.
Cash remittances from Filipinos working and living abroad
are likely to grow 3% this year and next year, the central bank
said.
The balance of payments is seen posting a surplus of $3
billion next year from $4.8 billion in 2019, while gross
international reserves could end 2020 at $86 billion from $85
billion at the end of 2019.