The country’s current account surplus reached $6.2 billion in the first three quarters of the year, equivalent to 5.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and surpassing the full-year forecast by $200 million as of end-September, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a report.

The current account consists of the trade account plus remittances and other income transfers. Compared to the same period last year, the current account surplus was 264.7 percent higher.

The BSP explained the increase in the “favorable performance” of the current transfers and trade-in-goods accounts which more than offset the relatively “weaker balances” in the services and income accounts. Net current transfers receipts rose year-on-year by 4.9 percent, on account of the 4.3 percent rise in remittances of overseas Filipinos to $11.2 billion in the first nine months.

BSP said the merchandise trade deficit in the meantime, stood at $6.5 billion, about 39.4 percent better compared from last year’s $10.7-billion shortfall as the decline in imports outpaced the drop in exports. For the period, exports declined by 29.3 percent while imports fell by 31.5 percent.

As for the services account this was still in surplus but net receipts dropped by 17.1 percent to $849 million from $1 billion last year because of slower travel and communication services businesses. However, the BSP noted some moderate increases in services receipts contributed mostly by the business process outsourcing-related accounts.

Current account records also include income account whose net receipts reached $32 million in the third quarter, lower by 76.1 percent year-on-year.

For 2010, the BSP expects current account to be in excess of $4.5 billion. In 2008, the current account was a surplus of $4.2 billion while the balance of payments (BoP) surplus was small at $89 million.

Last week the BSP said the emerging BOP surplus this year is $4.9 billion, which was the higher end of the $4-5 billion projection made last October.

Current account surplus, part of BoP tally, is expected to surpass the full-year forecast of $6 billion.