The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) stood at $112.43 billion as of the end of October 2024, according to preliminary data released late Thursday.
This marks a slight decrease from the end-September figure of $112.71 billion.
GIR consists of foreign assets held by the BSP, including investments in foreign issued securities, monetary gold, and foreign exchange.
“The month-on-month decrease in the GIR level reflected mainly the national government’s net foreign currency withdrawals from its deposits with the BSP to settle its foreign currency debt obligations and pay for its various expenditures,” the Philippine central bank explained.
In addition, the BSP noted that the country’s net international reserves, which reflect the difference between the BSP’s reserve assets and reserve liabilities (such as short-term foreign debt and borrowings from the International Monetary Fund), also saw a minor decline. Net reserves dropped to $112.39 billion at the end of October, from $112.67 billion at the end of September.
Despite the slight reduction, the BSP emphasized that the current level of GIR remains more than sufficient to support the country’s external liquidity needs. The reserves are equivalent to 8.1 months’ worth of imports and payments for services and primary income. Moreover, the GIR is about 4.5 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity, the BSP said.
Typically, the GIR is considered adequate if it can cover at least three months’ worth of the country’s imports and related payments, meaning the current level offers a strong buffer for external financial stability.
