International reserves stay strong at $106.2 billion

The Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) stood at USD106.2 billion as of end-March 2025, according to preliminary data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday.

While slightly lower than February’s USD107.4 billion, the BSP said the current GIR level remains a solid external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.3 months’ worth of imports and 3.7 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.

The month-on-month dip was attributed mainly to drawdowns by the national government from its foreign currency deposits with the BSP to service external debt obligations, as well as the central bank’s net foreign exchange operations.

Net international reserves—which account for reserve assets minus reserve liabilities—also declined to USD106.2 billion, reflecting the same factors.

Despite the modest drop, the BSP emphasized that the current GIR level remains well above the internationally accepted threshold of three months' worth of import cover, underscoring the country’s strong external position.