A logo of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) is seen at their main building in Manila, Philippines March 23, 2016. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco
The Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) are estimated to have reached $99.7 billion by the end of July, boosted by the rise in the value of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) gold holdings due to increasing prices. Preliminary data from the BSP shows that the GIR is approaching the $100 billion mark, recovering from the $99.4 billion recorded in June. The value of the BSP’s gold holdings increased to $10.3 billion from $10.01 billion in the previous month. However, the BSP’s overseas investments declined to $83.5 billion from $83.66 billion in June.
An Abundant Liquidity Buffer
According to the BSP, the current GIR level represents an abundant external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.4 months’ worth of imports and payments. It is also 5.9 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.1 times based on residual maturity. The reserves exceed the minimum required level, providing a strong external position for the Philippines.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., noted that the increase in the GIR is attributed to the higher value of gold and an additional $179 million in foreign exchange holdings. He emphasized that the GIR of $99.7 billion strengthens the
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