Post by : Jyoti Gupta

Photo:REUTERS

Manila – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), or the Central Bank of the Philippines, said on Friday that the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) went up to $105.5 billion by the end of May. This is a small increase from $105.3 billion in April.

The BSP said the increase was mainly because the price of gold rose in the world market. Since the central bank holds gold, this made the value of its gold go up.

Other reasons for the rise include income from investments abroad and foreign currency deposits by the national government.

The country’s reserves include:

• Foreign investments
• Gold
• Foreign currencies
• The Philippines’ share in the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• Special Drawing Rights (a type of international money from the IMF)

The BSP also said the net international reserves (which means the total reserves minus any short-term foreign debts or loans from the IMF) also rose slightly from $105.26 billion in April to $105.34 billion in May.

The BSP explained that this amount is a strong safety net for the country. It’s enough to pay for 7.3 months of imports and can cover 3.7 times the country’s short-term foreign debt.

Usually, if reserves can cover at least 3 months of imports, they are considered enough. So the Philippines is in a good position.

Steady Growth for the Philippines

The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) said that the Philippine economy is expected to keep growing steadily this year and in 2026.

According to Cyrille Schwellnus, head of OECD’s Indonesia and Philippines desk, the economy is likely to grow by 5.6% in 2025 and speed up to 6% in 2026.

He said this growth is mostly because of consumer spending—that means people buying goods and services. This is a major driver of the economy, just like in other Southeast Asian countries.

Jobs are helping too. The unemployment rate is below 4%, and this strong labor market supports more spending.

Government spending also rose earlier this year, especially due to the midterm elections.

Even though exports have grown in recent months, the OECD said they may slow down because of global trade tensions.

But the good news is that the Philippines is not as affected as other countries in Southeast Asia. That’s because its economy is mostly powered by what happens inside the country, not by exports.