The Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) increased to $109.71 billion as of end-October 2025 from $109.06 billion recorded in September, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Friday.
Preliminary data from the BSP showed the latest figure was lower than $111.08 billion registered in October 2024.
The month-on-month increase in GIR was led by an uptick in the country’s gold holdings, foreign investments and foreign exchange holdings.
Gold holdings were valued at $16.89 billion, climbing 3.09 percent from $16.38 billion in September. Foreign investments slightly rose 0.05 percent, from $87.48 billion to $87.52 billion.
The country’s foreign exchange holdings saw the largest jump, growing 21.62 percent to $626 million from $514.7 million in the previous month.
Meanwhile, the country’s reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dropped 1.29 percent to $728.2 million from $737.7 million in September. Special drawing rights (SDRs) remained unchanged at $3.94 billion.
The BSP said the latest GIR level provides a robust external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.3 months of imports of goods, service payments and primary income.
It also covers about 3.7 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.
The increase in foreign reserves provides sufficient protection for the Philippine peso against any undue speculation, said Ricafort.
“It could also strengthen the country’s external position that is positive for sustaining the country’s favorable credit ratings of 1 to 3 notches above investment grade as consistently seen despite the pandemic or over the past 5 years,” Ricafort said.
