RP gross intl reserves widen to record $49.578B in August

The Philippines' gross international reserves widened to a record $49.578 billion in August, helped by gains in its gold holdings, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Tuesday. Also boosting the GIR were the BSP’s foreign exchange operations and overseas investment. The current GIR level is enough to cover 9.2 months of imported goods and services and 9.5 times of the country's short-term external debt based on original maturity and 5.1 times based on residual maturity. BSP data showed that the GIR in August was $537 million more than the revised $49.041 billion in July. It was also $8.086 billion more than the $41.492 billion booked in the same month last year. Income from investment abroad rose by $131 million to $40.916 billion in August from $40.785 billion in July and by $5.893 billion from $35.023 billion a year earlier. Gold reserves increased by $381 million to $7.057 billion in August and $6.676 billion in July and by $2.227 billion from $4.83 billion in August 2009. Special drawing rights from lender International Monetary Fund (IMF) was steady at $1.105 billion, while income from the central bank's foreign exchange operations increased by $26.36 million to $367.79 million in August from $341.43 million in July but plunged by $101.53 million from $469.32 million in August last year. The central bank said that the GIR was partially offset by payments for maturing foreign exchange obligations of the national government and the BSP as well as foreign currency withdrawals by authorized agent banks. —VS, GMANews.TV