PH balance of payments posts USD 2.3 billion February deficit

MANILA – The Philippines’ balance of payments (BOP) posted a deficit of USD 2.3 billion in February 2026, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Thursday.

The February shortfall brought the cumulative BOP deficit for January to February 2026 to USD 2.7 billion.

The country’s gross international reserves (GIR), meanwhile, rose to USD 113.3 billion as of end-February 2026.

The BSP said the reserve level remains an adequate external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.5 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.

The GIR also covers about 4.3 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity. Short-term debt under this measure refers to outstanding external debt with original maturity of one year or less, plus principal payments on medium- and long-term loans of the public and private sectors falling due within the next 12 months.

The February 2026 BOP deficit marked a sharp reversal from February 2025, when the country recorded a surplus of USD 3.086 billion. For the full year 2025, the BOP registered an overall deficit of USD 5.661 billion.

In January 2026, the BOP had posted a deficit of USD 373 million, meaning the February figure represented a significant widening of the external payments gap.

The BOP tracks all economic transactions between the Philippines and the rest of the world. The GIR is composed of foreign-denominated securities, foreign exchange, and other assets including gold.

The central bank said the reserves help ensure sufficient dollar liquidity to meet the country’s import needs and foreign debt obligations, address currency volatility, and provide a buffer against external economic shocks.