“We expect OFW remittances to remain strong for the rest of the year on the back of the continued rebound in global economic activity,” he added. 2017 forecast: 5% growth in remittancesNoting the gradual improvement in the world economy, IHS Markit-Asia Pacific chief economist Rajiv Biswas said personal remittances for this year are likely to grow at a moderate pace of 5 percent year-on-year. “Personal remittances by Filipino workers abroad rose by 7.1 percent year-on-year in May, rebounding strongly after a year-on-year contraction in April. The May figures mean that total personal remittances for the first five months of 2017 are up 5.2 percent compared with the same period a year ago. This is similar to the pace of growth of personal remittances in [full-year] 2016, at a rate of 4.9 percent,” he said.

Source: Manila Times July 17, 2017 18:00 UTC