Philippines GIR down to $104.6B in April

The Philippines' gross international reserves (GIR) decreased to $104.6 billion by the end of April 2025, down from $106.7 billion in March 2025.

This decline was attributed to the national government settling external debt obligations and covering expenditures, as well as the BSP's net foreign exchange operations.

The April GIR level is the lowest since January 2025, when reserves stood at $103.3 billion, but is slightly higher by 0.8 percent compared to last year's $103.8 billion.

The BSP's foreign investments decreased by 3.2 percent to $86.09 billion in April from $88.92 billion a month ago.

Global uncertainty fueled by US President Donald Trump's policies tempered foreign investments, contributing to the decrease in reserves.

Despite the decline, the BSP affirmed that the GIR level provides a robust external liquidity buffer, sufficient to cover 7.2 months of imports of goods and payments for services and primary income.

The reserves also adequately cover approximately 3.6 times the country's short-term external debt based on residual maturity, exceeding the standard benchmark.

Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., noted that the country's strong external position could help stabilize the peso exchange rate.