The country’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $108.8 billion in September, the highest in nearly a year, driven by record gold holdings and strong inflows from remittances and foreign currency, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.
The increase marks a gain from %107.1 billion in August and the highest since $111.1 billion in October 2024.
The BSP credited “higher global gold prices, income from the BSP’s investments abroad, and foreign currency deposits by the national government” for the boost.
Gold holdings surged 12.8% to a record $16.38 billion, while foreign investments—the largest component of reserves—rose slightly to $87.24 billion.
“The latest GIR level ensures availability of foreign exchange to meet balance of payments financing needs… in extreme conditions when there are no export earnings or foreign loans,” the BSP said.
At the end of September, reserves covered 7.3 months of imports and 3.6 times the country’s short-term external debt, well above international adequacy thresholds.
The BSP expects reserves to reach $105 billion this year and $106 billion in 2026.
