PH dollar reserves dip to $105B

The Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) or United States (US) dollar stock, declined further to $104.6 billion, or P5.96 trillion, as of end-April, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported.

- By DERCO ROSAL

This level decreased by $2.1 billion, or 1.5 percent, from March’s $106.7 billion, mainly due to the Marcos administration’s withdrawal of dollar deposits with the central bank to service foreign debt and cover other expenditures, alongside the BSP’s net foreign exchange operations.

GIR refers to the BSP’s reserve assets, which include foreign investments, gold, foreign currency, a reserve position in the Washington-based multilateral lender International Monetary Fund (IMF), and special drawing rights (SDR).