The Philippines’ US dollar reserves have fallen to $105.703 billion as of end-July from $105.998 billion at end-June due to soft global gold prices and the government’s payment of maturing foreign debt, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Thursday.
Technically referred to as the gross international reserves (GIR), the July GIR level is also lower compared with $106.737 billion recorded in the corresponding month of 2024.
As an external liquidity buffer, the GIR in July is equivalent to 7.2 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income, the BSP said. The amount can also cover about 3.4 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity, it added.
The GIR helps “finance (a country’s) imports and foreign debt obligations, stabilize its currency, and provide a buffer against external economic shocks,” the BSP said.
Net international reserves (NIR), meanwhile, were down at $105.679 billion as of end-July from $105.977 billion at end-June. The NIR is the difference between the BSP’s reserve assets, or GIR, and reserve liabilities, or the short-term foreign debt and credit and loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The BSP’s reserve assets are composed of foreign investment, gold holdings, foreign exchange holdings, reserve position in the IMF, and special drawing rights (SDRs).
As of end-July this year, the BSP’s foreign investment amounted to $86.420 billion, up from $86.242 billion at end-June, but down from $91.109 billion at end-July 2024.
Gold, forex, SDR
Gold reserves reached $13.783 billion, down from the previous month’s $13.801 billion but higher than last year’s $10.312 billion.
The central bank’s foreign exchange holdings fell to $826.3 million as of end-July from $1.257 billion in the preceding month, but it was higher than $809 million as of end-July 2024.
The country’s reserve position in the IMF declined to $729 million in July from end-June’s $732.4 million, but it was more than the year-earlier $719.9 million.
The SDR – the IMF’s reserve assets – remained at $3.944 billion in June and July this year. In July last year, SDR holdings amounted to $3.787 billion.
2025-2026 GIR forecasts
The BSP has a conservative GIR forecast of $104 billion for 2025 and $105 billion for 2026.
The country sources its foreign exchange buffer from remittances, foreign direct investments and earnings from the business process outsourcing and tourism sectors.
The GIR reached a record high of $112.706 billion in September 2024, breaking the previous record of $108.794 billion in 2021.
