End-January 2018 GIR settles at $81.2 billion: central bank

February 7, 2018

Preliminary data showed gross international reserves (GIR) level as of end-January 2018 slid marginally to $81.2 billion from the end-December 2017 figures of $81.6 billion, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Nestor Espenilla, Jr. announced Wednesday.

"At this level, the GIR represents more than ample liquidity buffer and is equivalent to 8.2 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income," the central bank said in a statement.

"It is also equivalent to 5.8 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.2 times based on residual maturity, the central bank added,

The month-on-month marginal decline in the GIR level was due mainly to outflows from the foreign exchange operations of the BSP and payments made by the National Government for its maturing foreign exchange obligations.

These were partially tempered by the national government's net foreign currency deposits, revaluation adjustments on the BSP’s gold holdings from the increase in the price of gold in the international market as well as income from investments abroad.

Net international reserves (NIR), which refer to the difference between the BSP’s GIR and total short-term liabilities, decreased by $0.4 billion to $81.2 billion as of end-January 2018 from the end-December 2017 NIR of $81.6 billion. DMS