April gross international reserves decline to $80.1 billion: central bank

May 7, 2018

Preliminary data showed that gross international reserves (GIR) level as of end-April 2018 slid marginally to $80.1 billion from the end-March 2018 level of  $80.5 billion, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Nestor Espenilla, Jr. announced Monday.

At this level, the GIR is equivalent to 7.8 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. It is also equivalent to 5.5 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.1 times based on residual maturity.

The month-on-month marginal decline in the GIR level was due mainly to outflows arising from the payments made by the National Government for its maturing foreign exchange obligations, foreign exchange operations of the BSP as well as the revaluation adjustments on the BSP’s gold holdings resulting from the decrease in the price of gold in the international market.

These were partially tempered by the BSP’s income from its investments abroad and the NG’s net foreign currency deposits.

Net international reserves, which refer to the difference between GIR and total short-term liabilities, likewise decreased by $0.5 billion to $80 billion as of  end-April from the end-March  level of $80.5 billion. DMS