Government borrowing declined in August with fewer loans borrowed from local lenders, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

According to the Bureau of the Treasury, government borrowing in August amounted to P124.06 billion, lower by 7 percent than the P133.34 billion recorded in the same month last year.

The primary reason for the decline is the reduction in borrowings from the domestic market.

In July 2022, local financing stood at P132.2 billion. However, the government managed to reduce the amount by 11 percent to P117.4 billion this year.

Out of the total, P110.2 billion came from the sale of long-term debt papers, while P7.14 billion was acquired through short-term IOU offerings.

External borrowing, on the other hand, significantly increased by 407 percent from P1.32 billion in April 2022 to P6.68 billion.

All of the government's offshore borrowing was obtained from its development partners to finance its projects, according to the treasury data.

At end-August, the government’s foreign borrowing stood at P394.56 billion, higher by 17 percent compared with P337.8 billion in the same period in 2022.

On the other hand, domestic borrowings of the government from January to August declined by 18 percent from P1.57 trillion to P1.28 trillion.

Earlier, the Bureau of the Treasury reported that the national government’s debt stock increased by 0.7 percent in end-August at a new record high of P14.35 trillion. The amount also inched up by 0.8 percent compared with P14.24 trillion last July.

Of the total debt, 68 percent or P9.79 trillion is owed to domestic lenders while 32 percent or P4.56 trillion is borrowed from foreign lenders.