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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Banking & Finance devider Philippine forex buffers hit record $111 billion in 2025 on gold rally

Philippine forex buffers hit record $111 billion in 2025 on gold rally

Published Jan 8, 2026 11:07 am
Fresh gains in gold reserves lifted the Philippines’ 2025 gross international reserves (GIR)—the country’s stock of United States (US) dollars and other foreign currencies—to a record high.
Preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Wednesday night, Jan. 7, showed that the country’s GIR expanded to $110.9 billion at end-2025. Despite this peak, it still dropped from $111.3 billion as of end-November 2025.
This strong 2025 close could be attributed to higher global gold prices, despite decline in central bank earnings from its investments.
Notably, gold reserves stood at $18.6 billion, surpassing the all-time high in November 2025 and posting a new record level since 2000.
GIR includes the BSP’s reserve assets, such as foreign investments, gold, foreign currency, its reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and special drawing rights (SDR).
According to the BSP, the current reserve level provides a “robust” external liquidity buffer. It is enough to cover 7.4 months’ worth of imports and payments for services and income.
GIR serves as a country’s backup fund to finance imports and repay foreign debts, support the local currency, and protect against global economic shocks. The BSP said the current GIR is sufficient to cover short-term foreign debt four times.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the surge in gold holdings was driven by the increase in global gold prices by 5.9 percent. It also came closer to the record high of $4,381.52 per ounce reached in October 2025, he said.
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