Sept GIR level settles at $81-B

PRELIMINARY data showed that the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) level stood at $81.35 billion as of end-September 2017, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Officer-inCharge Maria Almasara Cyd N. Tuaño-Amador announced on Friday last week, October 6, 2017.

This level was lower by $0.38 billion than end-August 2017 GIR of $81.73 billion but higher by $0.66 billion than the end-2016 level.

The month-on-month decline in the GIR level was due mainly to outflows arising from the revaluation adjustments on the BSP’s gold holdings resulting from the decrease in the price of gold in the international market, payments made by the National Government (NG) for its maturing foreign exchange obligations, and foreign exchange operations of the BSP. These were partially offset by net foreign currency deposits by the NG and income from the BSP’s investments abroad.

The end-September 2017 GIR level can adequately cover 8.5 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. It is also equivalent to 5.5 times the country’s shortterm external debt based on original maturity and 3.6 times based on residual maturity.

Net international reserves (NIR), which refer to the difference between the BSP’s GIR and total shortterm liabilities, decreased by $0.38 billion to $81.34 billion as of end-September 2017, compared to the endAugust 2017 NIR of $81.72 billion.