GIR declined in March on foreign debt payments, peso defense—BSP

The country’s gross international reserves dropped in March, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reports.
INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines—The country’s gross international reserves (GIR) declined in March after the government paid its foreign loans, while some of the dollar buffers were used by the central bank to soothe sharp swings in the foreign exchange market.

The country’s GIR, which serves as buffer funds against external shocks, fell to $106.2 billion in March from $107.4 billion in the preceding month, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

“The month-on-month decrease in the GIR level reflected mainly the (1) drawdowns by the national government on its foreign currency deposits with the BSP to meet its external debt obligations and (2) BSP’s net foreign exchange operations,” the central bank said.

Despite the decline, the GIR was equivalent to 7.3 months’ worth of imports, way above the international standard of 3-month import cover.