The Philippines’ stock of US dollars declined to $108.465 billion at the end of November, down $2.618 billion from the previous month’s $111.083 billion after the government settled its maturing foreign currency loans.

The end-November gross international reserves (GIR) level is higher than the same period last year’s $102.72 billion by $5.745 billion.

The country’s foreign currency and foreign asset reserves remain adequate by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) standards.

The latest GIR level continues to be a “more than adequate external liquidity buffer” equivalent to 7.8 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments for services and primary income, noted the BSP. “It is also about 4.3 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity,” it added.

The BSP said the GIR declined after the government withdrew some of its net foreign currency deposits with the BSP to pay its foreign currency debt and for expenses.

The lower GIR was also due to the central bank’s net foreign exchange operations and the lower valuation of the BSP’s gold holdings because of a drop in the price of gold in the global market.

Meanwhile, the country’s net international reserves (NIR) decreased by $2.6 billion to $108.4 billion during the period. The NIR is the difference between the BSP’s reserve assets (GIR) and reserve liabilities, or short-term foreign debt, credit, and loans from the IMF.

The BSP’s reserve assets consist of foreign investments, gold, foreign exchange, reserve position in the IMF, and special drawing rights (SDRs), sometimes referred to as IMF currency.

As of the end of November, the BSP’s foreign investments amounted to $91.206 billion, down from end-October’s $93.103 billion but higher than the same time last year’s $85.42 billion.

The country’s gold reserves stood at $11.026 billion as of the end of November, lower than the previous month’s $11.353 billion but more than last year’s $10.816 billion.

Foreign exchange holdings totaled $1.745 billion during the period, lower than end-October’s $2.139 billion and the same time in 2023’s $1.909 billion.

The reserve position in the IMF as of the end of November was $668.2 million, while SDRs stood at $3.81 billion.

The BSP forecasts GIR will be around $104 billion by the end of 2024 and $105 billion by next year. The current level has surpassed the BSP’s projections for both years. In September of this year, the GIR hit its record high of $112.706 billion.

The GIR is supported by foreign exchange inflows from remittances, earnings from the business process outsourcing sector, and foreign direct investments. Tourism revenue is also a steady source of US dollars for the Philippines.