PH foreign reserves climb to 13-mo high
The Philippines’ foreign reserves rose to a 13-month high in November, as the value of gold held by the central bank hit another record high following a global rally in bullion prices.
Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) rose by nearly 1 percent month-on-month to $111.08 billion. This was the highest level since October 2024.
The GIR serves as the country’s buffer against external shocks. It also helps an economy finance its imports and foreign debt obligations in extreme conditions when there are no export earnings or foreign loans.
The reserve assets consist of A-rated foreign investments of the central bank, gold and foreign exchange, as well as borrowing authority with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the country’s contributions to the same Washington-based institution.
At this point, the GIR is running above the BSP’s forecast of $105-billion level by year’s end.
The headline boost came from gold. The value of the central bank’s holdings surged nearly 7 percent to $18 billion—the highest on record since 1971—as global economic and geopolitical jitters drove bullion prices to unprecedented highs.
Peso depreciation
Meanwhile, offshore investments of the BSP, which accounted for the bulk of the reserve assets, were nearly unchanged from the preceding month to $87.8 billion. Special drawing rights with the IMF and the country’s contribution to the Fund were also flattish at $3.9 billion and $728 million, respectively.
Foreign exchange holdings fell by 5 percent to $603.8 million. As it is, Governor Eli Remolona Jr. earlier said the BSP was dipping into the GIR in small amounts to temper any large peso depreciation that could reignite inflation.
Overall, the latest GIR level was equivalent to 7.4 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.
By convention, GIR is viewed to be adequate if it can finance at least three months’ worth of the country’s imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.
