CASH REMITTANCES surged anew to a fresh record high in December, the central bank reported on Thursday, propelling these inflows past the growth forecast for the full year.

Money sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) reached $2.741 billion that month, climbing by 7.1% from the $2.559 billion inflows posted in December 2016, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. The figure likewise jumped from the $2.262 billion remittances received in November, logging a new all-time high.

December’s growth pace was also the fastest since the 8.4% increase recorded in October last year.

December’s record inflows brought the full-year tally to $28.06 billion, 4.3% more than 2016’s $26.9 billion. The full-year pace beat the central bank’s four percent growth projection for 2017.

The increase in remittances was fueled by a 4.1% hike in the amounts sent by land-based OFWs, plus a 5.3% pickup in funds sent by those working at sea.

“Notwithstanding pockets of political uncertainties across the globe, cash remittances in 2017 remained resilient,” the BSP said in a statement.

Remittances from Filipinos working in the Middle East grew by 3.4% despite tensions in the Gulf area. Fund transfers from within Asia surged by 7.3% as well, led by inward flows from Filipinos in Singapore, Japan and Taiwan.

For the full year, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia were the biggest sources of remittance last year. Other major sources of remittances were Singapore, Japan, United Kingdom, Qatar, Kuwait, Germany and Hong Kong, which altogether accounted for 80.1% of total flows.

For 2017, personal remittances — consisting of cash and in-kind transfers from OFWs including through channels other than banks — grew by a faster 5.3% to $31.288 billion, beating the $29.706 billion tallied in 2016.

“The resiliency has always come from the OFWs themselves, who literally find ways to provide for their families back home. But a major factor has been the general growth recovery of advanced countries where many of our OFWs are sending from,” Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at Union Bank of the Philippines, said when sought for comment.

A recovery in oil prices may have also provided better opportunities for migrant workers, he added.

The central bank expects remittances to grow by another four percent to above $29 billion this year.

Mr. Asuncion said this would be fairly doable, as this would match the expected global growth at around 3-4%.

Remittances support domestic consumption, which in turn is one of the key drivers of overall economic growth. The Philippine economy expanded by 6.6% in the fourth quarter and by 6.7% for the entire 2017 against the government’s 6.5-7.5% target. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

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