Manila, July 21 -- The country's balance of payments (BOP) rose to a 21-month high, recording a surplus of USD3.4 billion, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

Data released late Monday showed that the surplus during the month was the highest recorded since the USD3.54 billion logged in September 2024.

The BSP said this helped narrow the January-to-June BOP deficit to USD3.9 billion from USD7.3 billion in January to May.

"The year-to-date BOP position reflected the continued trade-in-goods deficit and net outflows from foreign portfolio investments," the BSP said.

This was partly offset by the sustained net inflows from personal remittances of overseas Filipinos, foreign borrowings by the national government, trade...