QUICK LOOK: March dollar reserves dipped to $106B as gov’t repaid debt

The country’s gross international reserves (GIR) declined to $106.2 billion as of end-March 2025, from $107.4 billion in February, according to preliminary data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Highlights:

• March GIR: $106.2B, down from $107.4B in February
• Import cover: 7.3 months
• Short-term debt cover: 3.7x
• Decline due to government withdrawals, BSP FX ops
• Net reserves also down by $1.2B month-on-month

The month-on-month decrease was attributed mainly to foreign currency withdrawals by the national government to service external debt and to the BSP’s net foreign exchange operations.

Despite the decline, the central bank said its GIR level remains sufficient, equivalent to 7.3 months’ worth of imports and payments for services and primary income. It also covers 3.7 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.

GIR serves as a measure of the country’s ability to settle external obligations and support currency stability, with adequacy typically benchmarked at covering at least three months’ worth of imports.

The net international reserves (NIR), which exclude short-term foreign liabilities, likewise decreased to $106.2 billion from the previous month’s $107.4 billion.