Philippines posts USD 2.6 billion BOP deficit

The Philippines posted a balance of payments deficit of USD 2.6 billion in March 2026, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, as the country’s gross international reserves settled at USD 106.6 billion by the end of the month.

In the press release dated April 20, 2026, the BSP said the March external payments position brought the country’s January-to-March 2026 cumulative BOP deficit to USD 5.3 billion.

The data table on page 2 showed the exact March 2026 monthly BOP position at negative USD 2.637 billion and the year-to-date position at negative USD 5.288 billion.

The same table showed the Philippines posted a BOP deficit of negative USD 373 million in January 2026 and negative USD 2.277 billion in February 2026.

The BSP said the country’s gross international reserves fell to USD 106.6 billion as of end-March 2026.

It noted that this was a revised GIR level.

Despite the decline, the central bank said the reserve stock remained an adequate external liquidity buffer.

The BSP said the end-March reserve level was equivalent to 7.0 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.

It also said the reserve level covered about 3.9 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.

The central bank defined short-term debt based on residual maturity as 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 BSP said the balance of payments records the country’s transactions with the rest of the world.

It added that gross international reserves consist of foreign-denominated securities, foreign exchange and other assets, including gold.

According to the central bank, these reserves help ensure enough dollar liquidity to meet import needs and foreign debt obligations, address currency volatility and provide a buffer against external economic shocks.

The BSP also said the latest GIR level ensures the availability of foreign exchange to meet balance of payments financing needs, such as payment for imports and debt service, in extreme cases when there are no export earnings or foreign loans.

The BSP data showed the Philippines ended 2025 with a year-to-date BOP deficit of USD 5.661 billion.

That same data showed the country had posted year-to-date BOP surpluses of USD 609 million in 2024, USD 3.672 billion in 2023, USD 1.345 billion in 2021 and USD 16.022 billion in 2020, while recording deficits of USD 7.263 billion in 2022 and USD 2.306 billion in 2018.