PHL forex reserves widen to record $75.6B

Philippines foreign exchange reserves widened to an all-time high of $75.6 billion in August and has surpassed the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) full-year target by $600 million. BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said preliminary data indicate that the gross international reserves build-up was boosted by “…the foreign currency deposits by the national government, proceeds from a program loan from the World Bank, as well as the foreign exchange operations and income from foreign investments of the BSP." The reserves grew by $3.676 billion from $71.883 billion as of end-July and raised the country’s foreign exchange import cover to 11.3 times and short-term debt cover to 11.1 times. The debt and import covers serve as indicators of the country’s liquidity and level of protection against external shocks during an international financial crisis. Foreign exchange covers are also factored into the credit ratings international debt watchers issue on the long-term debt securities of countries and large corporations. — ELR/VS, GMA News