THE Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) increased to $105.65 billion by the end of July this year, up from $105.19 billion at the end of June, according to preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The latest GIR level provides a robust external liquidity buffer, sufficient to cover 7.8 months’ worth of imports and payments for services and primary income, the BSP said.
It is also about 6.1 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 3.8 times based on residual maturity, the central bank added.
The month-on-month rise in GIR was attributed mainly to the upward valuation adjustments in the BSP’s gold holdings, reflecting higher international gold prices, net income from BSP’s overseas investments, and net foreign currency deposits by the national government.
Net international reserves, which is the difference between the BSP’s reserve assets and reserve liabilities, also increased by $0.46 billion to $105.62 billion from $105.16 billion in June. (ABS-CBN News)
