End-November 2019 GIR level rises to US$86.4B

Preliminary data shows that the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) rose by US$0.56 billion to US$86.39 billion as of end-November 2019 from US$85.83 billion as of end-October 2019.

The month-on-month increase in the GIR level reflects the inflows arising from the BSP’s foreign exchange operations and income from its investments abroad, and the National Government’s (NG) net foreign currency deposits.

The end-November 2019 level of the GIR provides an ample external liquidity buffer that is equivalent to 7.5 months’ worth of imports of goods and services and payments of primary income.

It is also equivalent to 5.6 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.1 times based on residual maturity.

Net international reserves (NIR), which refers to the difference between the BSP’s GIR and total short-term liabilities, likewise increased by US$0.56 billion to US$86.38 billion as of end-November 2019 from the end-October 2019 level of US$85.82 billion.