Hit a new historic high of $43.2 billion

MANILA, Philippines - The country has become more liquid to meet its foreign currency-denominated requirements such as imports and maturing debts as its gross international reserves hit a new historic high of $43.2 billion in October.The reserves as of October was up from the end-September level of $42.5 billion. It was also higher than the $35.95 billion in October last year.The GIR is the total foreign-currency reserves and gold holdings kept and managed by the central bank. It determines a country’s ability to engage in commercial transactions with the rest of the world.Monetary officials said the country’s rising external liquidity was proof that it was less affected by the global economic turmoil.The foreign exchange buffer of the country is largely boosted by remittances coming from Filipinos working abroad, officials said. The sustained growth in remittances was making up for the drag in the GIR caused by dwindling exports, which turned anemic this year given the weak consumer demand worldwide caused by the global economic slowdown.The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said that for the month of October, the GIR was also boosted by inflows from the sale by the national government of $1 billion in bonds.The GIR in October was also boosted by the increase in the price of gold in the world market. Of the reserves, $5.27 billion were accounted for by gold holdings.According to the BSP, the latest amount of foreign exchange reserves was enough to cover for eight months’ worth of imports. This was also nine times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and four times based on residual maturity.
Debts computed based on residual maturity are those with original maturities of one year or less, and those that have medium- to long-term tenors but are about to fall due within the next 12 months.Net international reserves, which is the GIR less debts to be paid within a year, amounted to $43.1 billion as of end-OctoberMonetary officials said that given the country’s comfortable external liquidity position, it need not borrow abroad just to increase the GIR.Emerging economies were earlier encouraged by the International Monetary Fund to tap foreign borrowings if they needed to beef up their external liquidity positions.Countries heavily reliant on exports and do not receive as much remittance inflows as the Philippines could tap the international capital market to boost their GIRs.