Philippines’ foreign reserves rise to $104.8 billion

By Katherine K. Chan, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINES’ gross reserves jumped to their highest level in three months at end-June, backed by the central bank’s profits from its foreign investments and the foreign currency deposits it received following the National Government’s (NG) latest global bond issue, preliminary data showed.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data released late on Tuesday showed the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) climbed 0.78% to $104.803 billion at end-June from $103.988 billion in the prior month.

This was the highest tally since the $106.636 billion at end-March.

The increase was driven by the NG’s net foreign currency deposits with the central bank and the BSP’s net income from its international investments. “These were partly offset, however, by the… downward valuation adjustments, primarily driven by changes in prices of the BSP’s gold holdings and foreign currency-denominated reserve assets, and the NG’s drawdowns on its foreign currency deposits with the BSP for external debt service,” the central bank added.

The country’s foreign reserves also dropped by 1.13% from $105.998 billion as of June 2025, marking the third straight month that the GIR level declined year on year.

Gross reserves are the central bank’s foreign assets held mostly as investments in foreign-issued securities, foreign exchange and monetary gold, among others.

These are supplemented by claims to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the form of reserve position in the fund and special drawing rights (SDRs).

GIR allows a country to finance imports and foreign debts, maintain the stability of its currency, and safeguard itself against global economic disruptions.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the month-on-month climb in GIR came after the NG raised $2.5 billion from its triple-tranche US-dollar denominated bond issuance in June and even as world gold prices dropped.

He said gold price movements and developments in the Middle East war would continue to affect the country’s reserve position.

“For the coming months, GIR would partly continue to be a function of world gold prices… as well as any improvement in global and local market conditions should there be a continued ceasefire or de-escalation of the war on Iran or the Middle East.”

Central bank data showed its gold holdings were valued at $17.194 billion as of June, up 24.58% from $13.802 billion a year ago but down 11.74% from $19.48 billion in the prior month.

The country’s reserve position in the IMF dropped by 1.06% year on year to $724.6 million from $732.4 million but was up 1.46% from end-May’s $712.2 million.

SDRs — or the amount the Philippines can tap from the IMF’s reserve currency basket — slipped by 0.75% to $3.915 billion as of June from $3.952 billion a year prior and by 0.93% from $3.945 billion in the previous month.

The BSP’s foreign currency and deposits plunged by 48.35% to $2.298 billion as of June from $4.449 billion a year earlier, but surged 176.29% from $831.7 million in the previous month.

Its securities, on the other hand, dropped by 5.66% year on year to $72.088 billion from $76.413 billion and by 0.91% month on month from $72.75 billion.

Meanwhile, other reserves stood at $8.584 billion, jumping by 28.91% from $6.658 billion last year. It also went up by 37.08% from the $6.262 billion at end-May.

The country’s end-June GIR level was equivalent to 6.8 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income, more than double the three-month standard.

It is also enough to cover about 3.7 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.

The BSP now expects its dollar reserves to settle at $104 billion by end-2026, lower than its previous $111-billion estimate and the $110.8 billion seen last year.