PH foreign reserves down to $107.5B in March 2026 — BSP data
The country’s gross international reserves (GIR)—a measure of the ability to settle import payments and settle foreign debt—stood at $107.511 billion as of end-March, down from $113.264 billion as of end-February.
Sought for comment, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the month-on-month decline was “largely due to lower foreign investments due to market volatility that reflected the adverse effects of the war on Iran/Middle East since February 28, 2026 and also lower world gold prices that reflected the decline in gold holdings.”
Year-on-year, the end-March 2026 GIR level was higher than the end-March 2025 level of $106.669 billion.
Nonetheless, the BSP said the latest foreign reserves level “provides a robust external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.1 months' worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.”
According to the central bank, GIR, by convention, is viewed to be adequate if it can finance at least three months’ worth of the country’s imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.
The end-March 2026 GIR level also covers about 3.9 times the country's short-term external debt based on residual maturity.
Short-term debt based on residual maturity refers to outstanding external debt with an original maturity of one year or less, plus principal payments on medium- and long-term loans of the public and private sectors falling due within the next 12 months.
Moreover, the level of GIR as of a particular period is considered adequate if it provides at least 100% cover for the payment of the country’s foreign liabilities, public and private, falling due within the immediate 12-month period.
The GIR is made up of foreign?denominated securities, foreign exchange, and other reserve assets, including gold.
“These reserves serve as a buffer against external economic shocks, enabling a country to pay for its imports, service its foreign debt obligations, and stabilize its currency,” the BSP said.
RSJ,
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