MANILA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' balance of payments (BOP), which accounts for the transactions of the country with the rest of the world, registered a surplus of 226 million U.S. dollars in June 2025, a reversal from the deficit of 155 billion dollars recorded in June 2024, Philippine central bank said Friday.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a press release that the BOP surplus reflected the foreign currency deposits held by the national government with the BSP, as well as income from BSP investments.
"The BOP surplus in June helped narrow the year-to-date deficit, reducing it from 5.8 billion dollars in January-May 2025 to 5.6 billion dollars in January-June 2025," the BSP said.
Preliminary data indicated that the year-to-date BOP deficit was mainly due to the continued trade in goods deficit. "This decline was partly offset, however, by the sustained net inflows from personal remittances from overseas Filipinos, foreign borrowings by the national government, and foreign portfolio investments," the BSP said.
The BOP position mirrored the increase in gross international reserves (GIR), which rose from 105.2 billion dollars as of the end of May 2025 to 106 billion dollars by the end of June 2025.
According to the BSP, the latest GIR level provides a robust external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.2 months' worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.
Moreover, it covers about 3.4 times the country's short-term external debt based on residual maturity. ■
