Philippine foreign reserves rise to USD 104.8 billion

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

The Philippines’ gross international reserves rose to a preliminary USD 104.8 billion at the end of August 2026, supported by higher gold valuations and earnings from overseas investments, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.

The reserves provide a foreign currency buffer to pay for imports, meet external debt obligations and cushion the economy against external shocks.

Their adequacy matters to households and businesses because the country needs foreign currency to purchase goods and services abroad and keep overseas payments flowing during economic disruptions.

In its Sept. 7 release, the BSP reported reserves of USD 104,812.9 million, up from USD 103,316.7 million in July.

The central bank attributed the increase mainly to upward valuation adjustments in its gold holdings as gold prices rose in the international market.

Net income from the BSP’s investments abroad also contributed to the increase.

These gains were partly offset by the national government’s withdrawals from its foreign currency deposits with the BSP to service external debt.

The end-August reserves could cover 6.8 months of imports of goods and payments for services and primary income, compared with 6.7 months in July.

They could also cover about 3.7 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity. The accompanying BSP table placed that coverage at 369%, up from 365.7% in July.

Residual maturity includes outstanding external debt originally due within one year or less, plus principal payments on medium- and long-term public and private sector loans falling due within the next 12 months.

The BSP’s explanatory primer considers reserves adequate by convention when they cover at least three months of imports of goods and payments for services and primary income.

Another adequacy indicator is whether reserves can fully cover public and private foreign liabilities falling due within the next 12 months.

Gross international reserves comprise eligible foreign assets held by the central bank, including securities, currency and deposits, its reserve position in the International Monetary Fund, gold, special drawing rights and other reserve assets.

At the end of August, securities accounted for USD 64,024.4 million of reserves.

Gold holdings were valued at USD 19,108.8 million, compared with USD 17,489.5 million in July.

Other reserve assets totaled USD 15,444.5 million, while special drawing rights stood at USD 3,957.6 million.

Currency and deposits amounted to USD 1,549.7 million, and the reserve position in the fund was USD 728.0 million.

Despite the monthly increase, total reserves remained below the USD 107,097.9 million recorded in August 2025 and the USD 110,833.4 million at the end of 2025.

The August 2026 figures are preliminary, and component amounts may not add up to the total because of rounding.