The Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) stood at $104.0 billion as of end-May 2026, remaining at a level the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said is sufficient to support external liquidity needs and economic stability.
The central bank said the reserve buffer is adequate to cover imports of goods, payments for services, and primary income for up to 6.7 months, and is also equivalent to about 3.9 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.
BSP attributed the movements in reserves during the period to several factors, including drawdowns by the national government on its foreign currency deposits for external debt servicing, valuation adjustments in gold holdings and foreign-currency-denominated assets, and the central bank’s net foreign exchange operations.
These outflows were partly offset by foreign-currency deposits placed by the national government with the BSP, as well as income from the central bank’s overseas investments.
The BSP also reported that the country’s balance of payments (BOP) posted a $131 million surplus in May 2026, helping narrow the cumulative BOP deficit to $7.3 billion for the January–May period.
Despite the monthly improvement, the year-to-date position remains in deficit due to a persistent trade-in-goods gap and net foreign portfolio outflows. These pressures were partly cushioned by sustained inflows from overseas Filipino remittances, foreign borrowings, services trade, and foreign direct investments.