Foreign reserves slip in February 2018

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines' dollar reserves dropped in February 2018 after these were used to pay the national government's debts and temper exchange rate fluctuations, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported Wednesday.

 

Preliminary data showed that the country's gross international reserves level stood at $80.6 billion last month, lower than the $81.2 billion level recorded in January.

 

The BSP attributed the thinner foreign currency reserves to outflows arising from the central bank's foreign exchange operations, as well as debt payments made by the national government for its maturing foreign obligations.

 

International reserves are composed of gold and central bank assets expressed in foreign currencies, among others.

 

The BSP last year said it was engaging in "tactical intervention" in the foreign exchange market, whereby reserve fund is sometimes tapped to buy or sell more units to prevent excessive volatility.

 

The central bank said the decline in dollar reserves last month was partially offset by dollar deposits held by the government, including proceeds from the Philippines' global bonds issuance and income from the BSP’s foreign exchange operations.

 

The end-February GIR level is enough to cover 8.2 months' worth of import payments, the monetary authority added.

 

The BSP said the latest GIR is "more than ample liquidity buffer" for the economy against external shocks.