Philippine gross international reserves rose to their highest level in three months at the end of June, supported by central bank earnings from foreign investments and new foreign currency deposits following a recent government bond issue.
Data released by the central bank indicated that reserves increased 0.78% to $104.803 billion, up from $103.988 billion in the preceding month.
This figure represents the strongest reserve balance since the $106.636 billion recorded at the end of March.
The growth stemmed primarily from net foreign currency deposits received from the national government and the central bank’s net income from its overseas investments, while valuation adjustments to gold holdings and other reserve assets, as well as government drawdowns for external debt service, offset part of the rise.
On a year‑over‑year basis, reserves fell 1.13% to $105.998 billion, marking the third consecutive month of a downward trend.
Gross reserves comprise the central bank’s foreign assets, including foreign‑issued securities, foreign exchange, monetary gold, and claims on the International Monetary Fund in the form of reserve positions and special drawing rights.
These reserves enable the country to finance imports, service foreign debt, stabilize the currency, and cushion against global economic disruptions.
Economists note that the month‑on‑month increase followed a $2.5 billion government bond issuance in June and persisted despite a decline in world gold prices, while future reserve levels will remain sensitive to gold price movements and developments in the Middle East.
Gold holdings were valued at $17.194 billion at the end of June, up 24.58% from a year earlier but down 11.74% from the previous month.
The nation’s reserve position with the IMF slipped 1.06% year over year to $724.6 million, though it rose 1.46% from the end of May.
Special drawing rights fell 0.75% year over year to $3.915 billion and declined 0.93% from the prior month.
Foreign currency deposits dropped 48.35% year over year to $2.298 billion but surged 176.29% month over month from $831.7 million.
Holdings of securities decreased 5.66% year over year to $72.088 billion and fell 0.91% from the previous month.
Other reserve components rose sharply, increasing 28.91% year over year to $8.584 billion and 37.08% from the end of May.
At the end of June, reserves were sufficient to cover 6.8 months of imports and service payments, more than double the three‑month benchmark commonly used for adequacy.
The reserve pool also equated to roughly 3.7 times the country’s short‑term external debt based on residual maturity.
The central bank now projects dollar reserves to reach $104 billion by the end of 2026, a revision down from the earlier $111 billion forecast and the $110.8 billion level recorded last year.
