Foreign portfolio investments, or "hot money," recorded a net outflow of 361.09 million U.S. dollars in February, the local central bank said Thursday.

The Philippine central bank said the net outflow of hot money in February is significantly lower than the 1.84 billion U.S. dollars recorded in January, when the tapering of the U.S. Federal Reserve began.

This marks the third month that the Philippines saw a net outflow of hot money.

Figures released by the local central bank showed that gross inflows of foreign portfolio investments declined by 30 percent on year to 1.49 billion U.S. dollars, while gross outflows dipped by 3 percent on year to 1.85 billion U.S. dollars in February.

The Philippine central bank said the decline in foreign portfolio investments during the period was due to investors' initial reaction to the U.S. Fed's tapering of its stimulus program.

Investments in February were mainly in shares of stock listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange and peso-denominated government securities. Investments in the stock market benefited holding firms, banks, property companies, retail companies, and food, beverage, and tobacco firms.

The United States, Britain, Singapore, Luxembourg, and Malaysia were the top five investor countries in February.