BOP deficit to widen as Middle East war drives dollar outflows

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is set to post a bigger gap between foreign earnings and spending this year amid the Middle East conflict, the central bank said. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas now forecasts a $7.8 billion balance of payments (BOP) deficit, or about 1.5 percent of GDP, up from an earlier $5.9 billion estimate.