BoP posts surplus, reserves remain strong

The Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) stood at $104.0 billion as of end-May 2026, while the country’s balance of payments (BoP) position posted a $131-million surplus during the month, helping narrow the cumulative deficit to $7.28 billion in the first five months of the year.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the latest GIR level was slightly lower than the revised $104.3 billion recorded in April but remained sufficient to support the country’s external liquidity requirements.

The decline was attributed to the national government’s foreign debt payments, valuation losses on the BSP’s gold holdings and foreign currency-denominated assets, and the central bank’s foreign exchange operations.

These were partly offset by fresh foreign currency deposits from the national government and income generated from the BSP’s overseas investments.

The latest reserve level is sufficient to cover 6.7 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments for services and primary income.

It is also equivalent to 3.9 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.

Meanwhile, the country’s BoP position registered a $131-million surplus in May, helping narrow the cumulative deficit to $7.28 billion from $7.41 billion in the January-to-April period.

The BSP said the year-to-date BoP deficit reflected the continued trade gap and net outflows from foreign portfolio investments.

These were partly offset by sustained inflows from overseas Filipino remittances, foreign direct investments, trade in services, and foreign borrowings by the national government.