The Philippines’ balance of payments (BoP) recorded a $3.4-billion surplus in June, the highest monthly level since September 2024, narrowing the country’s cumulative external payments deficit for the first half of the year, while gross international reserves (GIR) rose to $104.7 billion, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The June surplus reduced the year-to-date BoP deficit to $3.9 billion from $7.3 billion in the January-to-May period. The BoP serves as a comprehensive record of the Philippines’ transactions with the rest of the world, including foreign direct investments.

Narrower oil import bill

RCBC chief economist Michael Ricafort attributed the surplus “largely due to the proceeds of the US$2.5-billion national government global/ROP bond issuance settled on June 24,” as well as a narrower oil import bill following the easing of global crude prices after tensions in the Middle East subsided last month.

The BSP said the cumulative 2026 deficit continued to reflect the country’s persistent trade-in-goods deficit and net foreign portfolio investment outflows. These were partly offset by sustained inflows from overseas Filipino remittances, foreign direct investments, trade in services, and the national government’s foreign borrowings.

“The BoP surplus also improved with the continued growth in OFW remittances, BPO revenues, as well as the continued inflows from foreign tourism receipts, foreign direct investments (FDIs) and other structural US dollar inflows into the country,” Ricafort added.

Highest level in three months

Meanwhile, the country’s gross international reserves increased to $104.7 billion as of end-June from $104.0 billion at end-May, the highest level in three months.

The BSP attributed the increase mainly to the national government’s net foreign currency deposits with the central bank and income from the BSP’s overseas investments.

These gains were partly offset by valuation losses resulting from changes in the prices of the BSP’s gold holdings and foreign currency-denominated reserve assets, as well as government withdrawals to service external debt.

End-June reserve level sufficient

The BSP said the end-June reserve level remained sufficient to cover 6.8 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments for services and primary income. It was also equivalent to about 3.7 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity, providing a buffer against external shocks.

Ricafort noted that while the reserve level was “among the lowest in eight years” in terms of import cover, it remained “more than twice the international standard of three to four months and still above the $100-billion mark.”