Forex reserves hit $45.4 billion

The Philippines’s foreign exchange holdings climbed for the seventh straight month in January due to proceeds from the government’s foreign borrowings and central bank earnings. In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said gross international reserves (GIR) were up by $1.2 billion to $45.4 billion in January from a month earlier. "The increase in the GIR level was due mainly to foreign exchange inflows from the National Government’s deposit of the proceeds from the reopening of its two bond issuances maturing in 2020 and 2034, as well as the BSP’s foreign exchange operations and income from its investments abroad," it said. Last month, the government raised $1.5 billion from bond sales, the proceeds of which are meant for infrastructure and reconstruction spending. The central bank’s foreign investments, meanwhile, rose to $37.95 billion last month from $36.65 billion in December. The BSP said outflows from the government’s payment of maturing foreign loans and bank withdrawals of foreign currency had partially offset the GIR rise. It added that the dollar’s appreciation last month also lead to revaluation losses with respect to the central bank’s gold holdings, which slipped to $5.39 billion from $5.46 billion. The BSP said the reserves were enough to pay for 9.2 months of imports and payments of services and income. Central bank Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. last month said the Philippines’ reserves could hit $47-48 billion this year. — BusinessWorld