Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The country’s gross international reserves (GIR) slightly rose to $80.86 billion at the end of May 2015, compared to $80.85 billion month earlier, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The GIR consists of assets used by the central bank for the payment of liabilities and other foreign obligations.
The figure would have been much higher had it not been for the national government’s net foreign currency withdrawals, payments for its maturing foreign exchange obligations, and revaluation adjustments on the BSP’s foreign currency-denominated reserves.
Nevertheless, the central bank credits the growth to foreign exchange operation, income from its foreign investments, and revaluation adjustments on its gold holdings.
In a statement, the BSP said that the GIR level for the end of May can cover approximately 10.6 months’ worth of imports of goods and payment of services and income.
The bank also notes that it is equivalent to about 4.9 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity, and 3.8 times based on residual maturity.
On the other hand, net international reserves (NIR) during the end of May slightly grew to $80.84 billion — $0.01 billion higher compared to the previous month. Unlike GIR, NIR excludes short-term liabilities from its value.
May marks the second consecutive month for the country’s GIR to rise. However, it is slightly lower than the country’s peak GIR of $80.87 registered in August last year.
