BOP posts $531 million deficit in January: central bank

February 19, 2018

The Philippines’ overall balance of payments (BOP) position in January posted a deficit of $531 million, higher than the $9 million deficit in the same month last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Monday. Outflows in January stemmed mainly from foreign exchange operations of the BSP and payments made by the National Government (NG) for its maturing foreign exchange obligations. These were offset by net foreign currency deposits of the NG and income from the BSP’s investments abroad during the month in review, the BSP added. Meanwhile, the final gross international reserve (GIR) level as of end-January reached $81.2 billion, reflecting the BOP position for the same period. 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. It is also equivalent to 5.9 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.3 times based on residual maturity. DMS