March 2017 gross international reserves at $80.87 billion

April 7, 2017

Preliminary data showed gross international reserves (GIR) was  at $80.87 billion as of end-March 2017,  Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. announced Friday. This level was lower by $0.57 billion than the end-February 2017 GIR of $81.44 billion but higher by $0.18 billion than the end-2016 level. The month-on-month decline was due mainly to outflows arising from the BSP’s foreign exchange operations and the payments made by the national government for its maturing foreign exchange obligations. These were partially offset by net foreign currency deposits by the national government and revaluation adjustments on the BSP’s gold holdings resulting from the increase in the price of gold in the international market. The end-March 2017 GIR level can cover 8.9 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. It is also equivalent to 5.2 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 3.9 times based on residual maturity. Net international reserves, which refer to the difference between the BSP’s GIR and total short-term liabilities, decreased by $0.57 billion to $80.86 billion as of end-March 2017, compared to the end-February 2017 levels of $81.43 billion. DMS