In a statement, the BSP said the country's gross international reserves (GIR) slipped to $82.9 billion at end-May from $83.2 billion at end-April.
BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. blamed the drop on lower gold prices, which pulled down the value of the central bank's holdings of the precious commodity.
Also responsible for the decline in the GIR were the government's payments of some of its foreign-currency debt, thus reducing the country's forex cache.
Despite the lower GIR, the amount available would still be enough to pay for 11.7 months worth of imported goods and services. Alternatively, the outstanding amount allows the government to pay 9.8 times over the country's short-term debt based on original maturity, or 6.6 times over based on residual maturity.
Calculating short-term debt based on original maturity includes liabilities maturing in one year or less plus portions of long-term obligations that fall due within the next 12 months.
Ample GIR helps prop up the peso and keep domestic inflation at bay. Inflation in the first 5 months of the year averaged three percent, or at the lower end of the BSP target range for this year.
source: interaksyon.com
