The country’s balance of payments position yielded a deficit of $1.8 billion in July, a reversal from the $642-million surplus a year ago, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show.
“The BOP deficit in July 2022 reflected outflows arising mainly from the national government’s foreign currency withdrawals from its deposits with the BSP to settle its foreign currency debt obligations and pay for its various expenditures,” the BSP said in a statement.
Preliminary data also showed that the BOP deficit reached $4.9b billion in the first seven months, wider than the $1.3-billion deficit registered in the same period last year.
The cumulative BOP deficit in the seven-month period reflected the widening trade in goods deficit.
The gross international reserves level declined to $99.8 billion as of end-July from $100.9 billion in June. The latest GIR level still represented a more than adequate external liquidity buffer equivalent to 8.3 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income, according to the BSP.