The gross international reserves (GIR) as of end-March grew to $104 billion from $102 billion in February, preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed Saturday.

Consequently, the net international reserves increased by $1.8 billion to $103.8 billion as the level of the BSP’s reserve assets surpassed the liabilities consisting of short-term foreign debt and loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

With this, the BSP said the foreign exchange stock can support 7.7 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services.

The BSP attributed the higher GIR level to higher gold prices in the global market, an increase in investment income of the central bank and an upswing in net foreign currency deposits from the national government.

GIR consists of foreign exchange, the country’s reserve position in the IMF, and special drawing rights.

The country’s gold reserve increased to $10.5 billion as of the end of March from $10.3 billion in the previous month.

Meanwhile, foreign investments grew to $87.9 billion from $86.4 billion.

Similarly, gains from foreign exchange holdings rose to $1.07 billion from $677.8 million.

Tourist visits pick up

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the GIR level will continue to grow as more foreign tourists enter the country.

“There has been a notable continued recovery in foreign tourism revenues that were almost not present two to three years ago,” he said.

Last year, there were 5.45 million foreign tourists in the Philippines who spent a total of $9.1 billion, the Department of Tourism said.

Travel services, along with sales of local goods abroad, are considered Philippine exports that increase foreign exchange income.

The Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) projected the growth in exports to slow down by 3 percent this year due to geopolitical tensions and changing trade policies.

Philippine exports, however, should grow by 6 percent annually from 2025 until 2028, the economic team said.

Meanwhile, DBCC projects the Philippines to spend more dollars for imports of goods to support its massive infrastructure development program amounting to over P9 trillion.

The government estimates imports to increase by 4 percent this year, 7 percent in 2025, and 8 percent in 2026 until 2028.

Consequently, the peso might weaken against the US dollar at P55 to P58 and make debt payments more expensive.

However, the entire economic team said it is implementing both monetary and non-monetary measures to make the country attractive to foreign investors while ensuring that public debt will progressively decline.

“The government’s fiscal targets were revisited to reflect the current global and domestic environment and, ultimately, ensure that more strategic and growth-enhancing fiscal consolidation is being pursued,” the Department of Finance said.