PH reserves drop to $103 billion in January, lowest in 9 months

The Philippines' foreign currency reserves fell to a nine-month low in January 2025 due to the central bank’s foreign exchange interventions and the national government’s debt payments.

Preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that gross international reserves (GIR) stood at $103.021 billion as of end-January, down from $106.256 billion in December 2024. 

This marks the lowest level since April 2024's $102.647 billion.

“The month-on-month decrease in the GIR level reflected mainly the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ net foreign exchange operations, and drawdown on the national government’s deposits with the BSP to pay off its foreign currency debt obligations,” the central bank said.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael Ricafort also attributed the drop to foreign debt maturities, government expenses in foreign currency, and BSP’s interventions amid US dollar-peso volatility.

Despite the decline, the BSP said reserves remain more than adequate, covering 7.3 months’ worth of imports and external payments—well above the three-month minimum conventionally deemed sufficient.

The GIR is also 3.6 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.

The BSP’s reserve assets include foreign investments, gold, foreign exchange, IMF reserve positions, and special drawing rights.

Meanwhile, net international reserves (NIR)—the difference between GIR and the BSP’s reserve liabilities—also dropped by $3.2 billion to $103.0 billion from $106.2 billion in December. — DVM, GMA Integrated News