End-June 2017 gross international reserves settle at $81.41 billion: central bank

July 7, 2017

Preliminary data showed that gross international reserves (GIR) level stood at US$81.41 billion as of end-June, central bank governor Nestor Espenilla, Jr. announced Friday.. This level was lower by $0.77 billion than end-May gross international reserves of $82.18 billion but higher by $0.72 billion than the end-2016 level. The month-on-month decline in the gross international reserves level was due mainly to outflows arising from the central bank’s foreign exchange operations, payments made by the national government for its maturing foreign exchange obligations, and revaluation adjustments on the central bank’s gold holdings resulting from the decrease in the price of gold in the international market. These were partially offset by net foreign currency deposits by the national government and income from the central bank’s investments abroad. The end-June gross international reserves level can adequately cover 8.7 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. It is also equivalent to 5.6 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 3.8 times based on residual maturity. Net international reserves, which refer to the difference between gross international reserves and total short-term liabilities, decreased by $0.77 billion to $81.39 billion as of  end-June, compared to the end-May net international reserves of $82.16 billion. DMS