Aug. foreign reserves at 3-month-high $81.5B
GROSS INTERNATIONAL RESERVES (GIR) edged up in August to a three-month high on the back of higher gold valuations and steady inflows from the central bank’s investments abroad, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.
GIR picked up to $81.513 billion last month, more than July’s upward- revised $ 81.065 billion but still less than the $85.792 billion recorded in August 2016, according to central bank data.
The reserves were also the biggest since May’s $82.177 billion.
“The build-up in reserves was due mainly to inflows… from revaluation adjustments on the BSP’s gold holdings resulting from the increase in the price of gold in the international market, national government’s net foreign currency deposits and income from the BSP’s investments abroad,” the central bank said in a statement.
At the same time, the government paid off some dollardenominated debt last month and used the reserves to temper volatility in daily peso- dollar trading. The peso hovered at the P51-per-dollar level that month to hit 11-year-lows. BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. has said the central bank is “actively managing” excessive volatility in the foreign exchange market.
Income from the central bank’s offshore investments slipped to $ 66.863 billion in August from the preceding month’s $67.15 billion and $73.93 billion a year ago to account for bulk of reserves.
Value of BSP’s gold holdings rose to $8.431 billion from July’s $8.003 billion, reflecting higher gold prices in the world market.
Foreign exchange held by the BSP climbed to $ 4.577 billion from July’s $4.267 billion in July and the year-ago $1.972 billion. BSP officials have said a weaker peso spelled trading gains since the reserves are expressed in dollars. —