MANILA - The country's foreign exchange reserves rose to $81.9 billion in the first nine months of the year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said on Friday.
In a statement, the BSP said the country's gross international reserves at end-September climbed $1.2 billion from the $80.7 billion in the first eight months of the year.
At the end-September level, the GIR could cover 11.8 months of imports of goods and payments for services and income.
Alternatively, the nine-month reserves could allow the country to pay 11.7 times over its short-term external debt based on original maturity, and 6.5 times over if based on residual maturity. Residual maturity incorporates principal payment of medium- to long-term debt that is due in the next 12 months.
The BSP ascribed the buildup in the country's reserves to income from its forex operations and investments abroad, as well as from revaluation gains on the central bank's gold holdings.
source: interaksyon.com
