The Central Bank of the Philippines reported that gross international reserves declined to USD 103.3 billion at end-July 2026 from USD 104.7 billion at end-June, while remaining sufficient to cover external obligations and cushion economic shocks. The revised reserve level covered 6.7 months of imports and payments for services and primary income, and about 3.7 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity. The decline primarily reflected the central bank’s net foreign exchange operations, government drawdowns and withdrawals of foreign currency deposits, and downward valuation adjustments to foreign currency reserve assets. Investment income and higher gold valuations provided partial offsets. The balance of payments recorded a USD 1.5 billion deficit in July, bringing the January-July deficit to USD 5.3 billion, compared with USD 5.8 billion in the same period of 2025. The year-to-date shortfall reflected the goods trade deficit and net foreign portfolio investment outflows, partly offset by inflows from remittances, government foreign borrowing, services trade and foreign direct investment.
2026-08-19Central Bank of the Philippines
Central Bank of the Philippines reports reserves fell to USD 103.3 billion and July payments deficit reached USD 1.5 billion
The Central Bank of the Philippines reported that gross international reserves fell to USD 103.3 billion at end-July 2026 but still covered 6.7 months of imports and related payments. The July balance-of-payments deficit was USD 1.5 billion, taking the January-July shortfall to USD 5.3 billion, below the USD 5.8 billion deficit recorded a year earlier.