11.06.2009 The country’s gross international reserves (GIR) level rose to US$43.2 billion as of end-October 2009, US$0.7 billion higher than the end-September 2009 level of US$42.5 billion, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. announced today.
The increase in the preliminary GIR level was due mainly to inflows from foreign currency deposits by the National Government (NG) of the proceeds from its third bond issuance for 2009 and a loan from the Asian Development Bank, revaluation gains on the BSP’s gold holdings arising from the higher price of gold in the international market, and income from the BSP’s investments abroad. These receipts were partly offset by outflows arising from the payment of maturing foreign exchange obligations of the NG and the BSP, as well as foreign currency withdrawals by authorized agent banks (AABs).
The current GIR level could cover 8.0 months of imports of goods and payments of services and income. It was also equivalent to 9.1 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.0 times based on residual maturity. 1
The level of net international reserves (NIR), which includes revaluation of reserve assets and reserve-related liabilities, likewise increased to US$43.1 billion as of end-October 2009, higher by US$1.2 billion from the previous month’s level of US$41.9 billion. NIR refers to the difference between the BSP’s GIR and total short-term liabilities.
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1 Short-term debt based on residual maturity refers to outstanding external debt with original maturity of one year or less, plus principal payments on medium- and long-term loans of the public and private sectors falling due within the next 12 months.
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