MANILA, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) — The Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) rose to 109.7 billion U.S. dollars in October from 109.1 billion dollars in September, according to preliminary data released by the Philippine central bank.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Friday in its press release that the latest GIR level provides a robust external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.3 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services, and primary income.
Moreover, it covers about 3.7 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity, the BSP said.
The GIR is made up of foreign-denominated securities, foreign exchange, and other assets, including gold. ■