The Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) slightly declined in July, driven by falling global gold prices and the national government’s withdrawal of its foreign currency deposits, according to data released Thursday by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Preliminary figures show the GIR dropped to $105.703 billion in July, slipping from $105.998 billion in June. It also marked a decrease from $106.737 billion recorded during the same month last year.
Despite the dip, the BSP maintained that the country’s external position remains strong. “The latest GIR level provides a robust external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.2 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income,” the central bank said. A reserve level that can cover at least three months’ worth of imports is generally considered sufficient.
The GIR also represents around 3.4 times the Philippines’ short-term external debt based on residual maturity, indicating continued resilience in external obligations.
Meanwhile, the net international reserves — calculated as the total reserve assets minus reserve liabilities — also declined by $0.3 billion, settling at $105.7 billion from the previous month’s $106.0 billion.
