PHL foreign reserves dip to $83.4B in April

Philippine foreign reserves dipped in April from a month earlier as the value of central bank's gold gold holdings dropped and the government paid it debts, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Tuesday. Citing preliminary data, the Bangko Sentral reported that the country's gross international reserves (GIR) stood at $83.4 billion in April, or 0.68 percent narrower than the $83.9 billion in March. The latest GIR figure, however, was still 8.93 percent higher than the $76.5 billion recorded in April 2012. The reserves were enough to cover nearly a year of the Philippines' imports and is 6.3 times more than its total outstanding debts to foreign creditors maturing within one year. “The decline in the reserves level was due mainly to adjustments on the BSP's gold holdings arising from the decrease in the price of gold,” said the Bangko Sentral. Payments for government's maturing debts as well as withdrawals by state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. also trimmed the reserves. Outflows were partly offset by inflows from the central bank's foreign exchange operations and income from overseas investments as well as deposits by the government.  GIR consists of foreign currency denominated holdings with the central bank like gold, foreign investments and foreign exchange as well as special drawing rights or reserve assets under with International Monetary Fund. Last year, the GIR amounted to $83.82 billion or slightly above the Bangko Sentral's $83 billion forecast.  — Siegfrid Alegado/VS,GMA News