By Katherine K. Chan
The Philippines’ balance of payments (BoP) defithe number decreased significantly in November amid high income during the holiday season, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported late Friday.
The central bank’s preliminary data showed BoP defiThe cit stood at $225 million in November, narrowing significantly from the $2.276 billion gap seen in the same month last year.
“The balance of payments of the Philippines registered defiestimated at $225 million in November 2025,” the central bank said in a statement.
Month by month, BoP’s position has changed to deficiting the more than $706-million posted in October.
November is the first time in four months that the country’s BoP position has fallenficit or from a $167-million gap in July.
BoP refers to a country’s economic trade with other nations. A surplus shows more money coming into the country, while a deficit shows that the country spent more money than it received.
John Paolo R. Rivera, senior researcher at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, says the BoP deficit in November for increased import demand during the holiday season, as well as debt repayments and portfolio outflows.
“Although this took a short period of surplus, it does not indicate a change as the income and services exported remain supportive,” he said of Viber.
In the January to November period, the country’s BoP position changed to $4.834-billion, from $2.117-billion last year.
Robert Dan J. Roces, economist at SM Investments Corp., said the country’s BoP cumulative de.fiThe cit is extended to “import and fioutflows are earlier and faster than exports and inflowsfdown.”
He noted that this does not indicate the weakness of the country’s foreign policyffers.
“Although November’s sharp reduction was aided by periodic cash outflows, portfolio adjustments, and reduced foreign payments, the year-to-date gap has been driven by large commodity and energy imports, weak trade amid soft global demand, and episodic portfolio exits during periods of higher US Voices (FX products added) message.
In the coming months, Mr. Rivera said a reduction in imports and better global financial conditions could help stabilize the country’s BoP.
“The BoP may remain volatile in the near term, but it should be stable as imports are easy and if global financial conditions remain favourable; further improvement will depend on strong investment and continued export performance,” he said.
The central bank expects the BoP position to total a deficit of $6.9-billion or -1.4% of the country’s gross domestic product at the end of the year.
ADDITIONAL DOLLARS
Meanwhile, the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) rose to $111.3 billion in the 11-month period from $110.2 billion in the previous month.
As of the end of November, the level of dollar reserves translated into 7.4 months worth of imports of goods and services and primary income, which exceeded the three-month level.
“Specifically, the latest GIR rate ensures the availability of foreign currency to meet outstanding payments fifinancing needs, such as the payment of imports and debts, in extreme cases where there are no foreign earnings or foreign loans,” the BSP said.
It also covers 4.0 times the country’s short-term external debt based on net maturity.
GIR includes foreign securities, foreign currency, and other assets such as gold. It allows the world to know finance imports and foreign debts, maintain the stability of its currency, and protect itself from disruptions in the global economy.
The central bank expects the GIR to stabilize at $105 billion this year.
