Forex reserves dip to $104.6 B in April

The country's gross international reserves (GIR) fell to $104.6 billion in April as the government withdrew from its foreign currency deposits with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to meet external debt obligations and fund various expenditures.

- By KEISHA TA-ASAN

Based on BSP data, the country's dollar reserves went down by two percent from the $106.7 billion recorded in March, marking the lowest level since January 2025, when reserves stood at $103.3 billion.

Compared to a year ago, the April GIR level was slightly higher by $870 million or 0.8 percent from last year's $103.8 billion.

"The month-on-month decrease in the GIR level reflected mainly the national government's drawdowns on its foreign currency deposits with the BSP to meet its external debt obligations and pay for its various expenditures," the central bank said.

The BSP's foreign investments decreased by 3.2 percent to $86.09 billion in April from $88.92 billion a month ago. The figure was also slightly lower than the $87.13 billion recorded a year ago.