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By Chino S. Leyco, Reporter
THE country’s dollar reserves
hit an all-time high at end-January, according to the Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas (BSP), citing the unabated inflows of foreign exchange.
In a statement, BSP Governor
Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said the country’s gross international
reserves (GIR) reached $34.4 billion last month, exceeding by $600
million the end-December figure of $33.8 billion.
For this year, the BSP projects
the GIR to reach $35 to $37 billion. Last year, the country exceeded
the BSP forecast of $33 billion to $33.5 billion.
Excluding payments for short-term
liabilities, the country’s net international reserves likewise
climbed to $34.3 billion from the end-December level of $33.7
billion.
Tetangco said the increase in
reserves was due to the BSP’s net foreign exchange operations on
the back of sustained foreign exchange inflows, as well as income
from its investments abroad.
He said the end-January GIR could
cover six months of imports of goods and payments of services and
income. It would also allow the country to pay five times over its
short-term external debt based on original maturity, and 3.1 times
over if based on residual maturity, which includes current portions
of long-term obligations.
Tetangco said the inflows were
partly offset by payments of maturing foreign exchange obligations
of the national government and the BSP.
Ample reserves boost the value of
the peso, which in turn helps keep inflation low.
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