MANILA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' gross international reserves (GIR) rose in August 2025 to 105.9 billion U.S. dollars from 105.4 billion dollars in July due to higher global gold prices and income from the Philippine central bank's investments, according to preliminary data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Friday night.
GIR is made up of foreign-denominated securities, foreign exchange, and other assets, including gold. The GIR helps a country finance its imports and foreign debt obligations, stabilize its currency, and provide a buffer against external economic shocks.
The BSP added that 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.
Similarly, the net international reserves increased by 0.5 billion dollars from 105.4 billion dollars as of end-July 2025 to 105.9 billion dollars as of end-August 2025. ■