THE country’s gross international reserves (GIR) hit an all-time high of $86.39 billion in November boosted by the central bank’s foreign exchange operations and investment income, as well as government’s foreign currency deposits. The figure surpassed the previous all-time high reserves level of $86.13 billion recorded in September 2016 as well as the $83 billion projection of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for this year. It was also equivalent to 5.6 times the country’s short-term external obligations due within one year and 4.1 times based on residual maturity. Net international reserves, which refer to the difference between GIR and total short-term liabilities, increased to $86.38 billion from $85.82 billion a month earlier. It consists of holdings of gold, special drawing rights, foreign investments, and foreign exchange, including reserve position in the fund.

Source: Manila Times December 06, 2019 16:41 UTC