Markets

PH GIR Level Reached $62.1B in December

Preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that the country’s gross  international reserves (GIR) as of end-December 2010 posted an all-time high level of $62.1 billion, higher by $17.9 billion compared to the end-December 2009 GIR of $44.2 billion, and by $1.5 billion vis-à-vis the previous month’s level of $60.6 billion, according to BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr.

The appreciable year-on-year build-up in the reserves level was due to inflows from the BSP’s foreign exchange operations, income from investments abroad, and revaluation gains on its gold and foreign currency-denominated holdings. These inflows were partially offset, however, by payments for maturing foreign exchange obligations of the National Government (NG) and the BSP, as well as net foreign currency withdrawals by authorized agent banks and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).

Reserve assets accumulated over the 12-month period stemmed mainly from sustained foreign exchange inflows from merchandise exports, services receipts, overseas Filipinos’ remittances, and direct and portfolio investments. The preliminary end-December 2010 GIR climbed to a level that could cover 10.2 months worth of imports of goods and payments of services and income. It was also equivalent to 10.8 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 5.7 times based on residual maturity.

Net international reserves (NIR), which include revaluation of reserve assets and reserve-related liabilities, likewise rose to $62 billion as of end-December 2010, compared to the year-ago level of $44.2 billion. NIR refers to the difference between the BSP’s GIR and total short-term liabilities.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.