MANILA, Philippines – The country’s foreign exchange reserves slightly dipped in March, largely due to payments of maturing obligations by the government as well as the revaluation adjustments on the gold holdings of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Based on preliminary data, the BSP’s gross internal reserves (GIR) stood at $80.4 billion as of the end of March, down from $79.645 billion in the same period last year.
The latest GIR figure, enough to cover 10.5 months worth of imports of goods and payments of services and income, declined by $400 million month on month.
The central bank’s reserves were also equivalent to 4.9 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 3.9 times based on residual maturity.
These were partially offset by the government’s net foreign currency deposits and the BSP’s foreign exchange operations and income from investments overseas.
Short-term debt based on residual maturity refers to outstanding external debt with original maturity of one year or less, plus principal payments on medium and long-term loans of the public and private sector’s falling due within the next 12 months.
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Foreign exchange reserves are foreign assets held or controlled by the country’s central bank.
These reserves are made of gold or specific currency. They can also be marketable securities denominated in foreign currencies like Treasury bills, government bonds, corporate bonds and equities and foreign currency loans.
