By Katherine K. Chan, A reporter
Philippine dollar reserves as of the end of December surpassed the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) estimates for the year as they reached more than $110 billion.
Based on preliminary central bank data, the country’s gross domestic product (GIR) reached $110.873 billion at the end of December, down 0.34% from $111.254 billion seen in the previous month.
However, this was 4.34% higher than the $106.257-billion foreign reserves recorded in 2024 and breached the BSP’s revised full-year estimate of $109 billion.
GIR refers to the central bank’s foreign assets held mainly as investments in foreign-issued securities, foreign currency, and currency gold, among others.
This is supplemented by International Monetary Fund (IMF) claims in the form of fund reserves and special drawing rights (SDR).
In a statement issued late Wednesday, the BSP said the reserve level as of the end of 2025 is sufficient to cover about four times the country’s short-term external debt based on remaining maturities.
It is also equivalent to 7.4 months worth of goods and services payments and basic income, which is well above the three-month rate.
“The latest GIR rate ensures the availability of foreign currency to meet balance of payments needs, such as the payment of purchases and debt service, in extreme cases where there is no export earnings or foreign loans,” the central bank said.
HIGH GOLD RECORD
BSP data showed that the country’s gold rose 3.06% to a record high but reached $18.578 billion at the end of December. This surpassed the previous record of 18.026 billion dollars at the end of November. Year over year, it increased by 68.8% from $11.006 billion.
However, the central bank’s foreign investment stood at $87.009 billion at the end of 2025, down 1.1% from $87.975 billion at the end of November and 2.76% from $89.476 billion at the end of 2024.
The decline has weakened foreign currencies during that period, although it has been tempered by record gold holdings, Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said.
“The monthly decrease in GIR (was caused) and mainly due to the recent month-on-month decrease in foreign investment … but it was offset by the continued month-on-month increase in gold … to a new record high of $ 18.577 billion,” he said in a statement.
Mr. Ricafort noted that gold prices on the global market rose 1.9% in the month of December, reaching a new high of $4,549.92 per ounce on Dec. 26.
Meanwhile, the BSP’s foreign currency holdings increased by 6.51% to $647.2 million from $612.8 million at the end of November. However, it decreased by 52.64% from $1.367 billion last year.
The Philippines’ reserve position at the IMF fell by 0.14% on the month to $727.3 million at the end of December from $728.3 million. Year over year, it grew by 7.65% from $675.6 million.
SDRs – the amount the Philippines can receive from the IMF’s reserve basket – were unchanged month-on-month at $3.912 billion but increased 4.02% from $3.761 billion at the end of 2024.
“The decline in the GIR this month was largely due to debt repayments and the BSP’s measures to stabilize the peso, as well as low gold rates,” said Jonathan L. Ravelas, senior advisor at Reyes Tacandong & Co., in a Viber message.
BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said they have been making small interventions in the foreign exchange market amid the recent peso volatility.
This year, Mr. Ravelas said debt servicing may continue to add pressure to the country’s GIR level, although income from remittances, tourism and the business process outsourcing (BPO) sectors may provide some reassurance.
“Going forward, expect a slight softening as debt repayment continues, but strong inflows from OFWs (overseas Filipino workers), BPOs, and tourism will keep our external position strong.”
This year, the central bank expects the GIR to end at $110 billion, from its previous forecast of $106 billion.
