PH posts $2.6 billion BOP deficit in March 2026

The Philippines registered another wide balance of payments (BOP) deficit in March 2026, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

The BOP position stood at a $2.6-billion deficit in March, It was a $2.27-billion deficit in February.

For January to March 2026, the BOP recorded an overall deficit of US$5.3 billion, the BSP said.

Meanwhile, the country's gross international reserves (GIR) decreased to US$106.6 billion as of
end-March 2026.

"This level of reserves remains an adequate external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.0 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income," BSP said.

"It covers about 3.9 times the country's short-term external debt based on residual maturity," it added.

According to BSP, the BOP denotes the transactions of the country with the rest of the world.

GIR are made up of foreign-denominated securities, foreign exchange, and other assets, including gold. GIR helps ensure sufficient dollar liquidity to meet the country’s import needs and foreign debt obligations, address currency volatility, and provide a buffer against external economic shocks, BSP said. —LDF, GMA News