THE Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) climbed to an 11-month high in September this year, largely due to the increase in global gold prices and income from the central bank’s investments, preliminary data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on October 7 showed.
The GIR — a measure of the ability to settle import payments and service foreign debt — stood at $108.805 billion in September, higher than the $107.097 billion in August but lower than the $112.706 billion in September 2024.
The latest figure is also the highest in 11 months, or since October 2024, when the GIR was $111.083 billion.
The reserve position in the fund stood at $737.7 million, while foreign investments were recorded at $87.242 billion, gold assets at $16.384 billion, and foreign exchange at $505.1 million.
“The latest GIR level provides a robust external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.3 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income,” the BSP said in a statement.
The central bank said the GIR covers about 3.6 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.
Meanwhile, net international reserves, defined as the difference between reserve assets and reserve liabilities, increased by $1.7 billion, reaching a total of $108.8 billion. (GMA Integrated News)
