The country’s balance of payments (BoP) posted a surplus of $2.1 billion in September, increasing the year-to-date tally, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. The figure in September boosted the surplus to $6.88 billion in the first nine months, significantly higher than the $5.57 billion recorded in the same period last year. For this year, the central bank forecasts the BoP surplus to hit $8.1 billion. The BSP said the BOP position reflects an increase in the final gross international reserves (GIR) level of $100.44 billion as of end-September 2020, higher than the $98.95 billion as of end-August. “Moreover, it is also about nine times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 5.4 times based on residual maturity,” it added.

Source: Manila Times October 26, 2020 16:30 UTC