The country’s overall balance of payments (BOP) position posted a deficit of $4.1 billion in January 2025, higher than the $740 million BOP deficit recorded in January 2024.
The BOP deficit in January 2025 reflected the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) net foreign exchange operations and drawdowns by the national government on its foreign currency deposits with the BSP to meet its external debt obligations.
The BOP position reflects a decrease in the final gross international reserves (GIR) level to $103.3 billion as of January 2025 from $106.3 billion as of the end of 2024. The latest GIR level represents a more than adequate external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.3 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.
Moreover, it is also about 3.7 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.