MANILA, Philippines — The ballooning trade and current account deficits arising from strong imports are still manageable as the country’s foreign exchange buffer remain sufficient, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. Dakila said the GIR level stood at $77.5 billion as of end-June and is enough to cover 7.1 months’ worth of imports of goods and services. The GIR is the sum of all foreign exchange flowing into the country. The buffer is also the major source of funds of the BSP to smoothen the volatility of the peso in the foreign exchange market. Dakila said there are others structural sources of foreign exchange, including remittances from overseas Filipinos, that usually pick up in the fourth quarter of the year in time for the Christmas holidays.

Source: Philippine Star September 15, 2018 15:11 UTC