The BSP said the decline was mainly due to government payments for maturing foreign debt as well as revaluation adjustments on central bank gold holdings and foreign currency-denominated reserves.
GIR reflects a country’s ability to pay for its imports and debt.
Forex reserves in March can cover 10.5 months’ worth of imports, and is equivalent to 3.9 times short-term foreign debt, residual maturity basis. In February, the country’s GIR was $80.84 billion.
Philippines was Asia's second-fastest growing economy in 2014 after China, having gathered momentum in the final quarter.
Government's 7 percent to 8 percent expansion goal would keep the economy as one of Asia's fastest-growing, in contrast to neighbors recently easing policy to spur growth. -- With Reuters
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
