Forex reserves at $85.9B high by September, says central bank

Preliminary Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed that the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) rose to $85.90 billion by the end of September.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Officer-in-Charge Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. said foreign currency reserves were higher by $110 million than at the end of August when the GIR was at $85.79 billion.

He attributed the higher currency reserves to an increase in the national government’s (NG) net foreign currency deposits, the BSP’s foreign exchange operations and its income from investments abroad, along with revaluation adjustments on its gold holdings resulting from the increase in the price of gold in the international market.

These were partially offset by payments made by the government on its maturing foreign exchange obligations.

The end-September 2016 GIR level can cover 10 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and income, Espenilla said.

It is also equivalent to 6.0 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.3 times based on residual maturity. Net international reserves (NIR), which refer to the difference between the BSP’s GIR and total short-term liabilities, also increased by $110 million to $85.89 billion as of end September 2016 compared to the end-August 2016 of $85.78 billion. RIZA LOZADA