Foreign reserves climb to record $112.5 billion in January

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February 9, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s gross international reserves (GIR) rose to $112.5 billion as of end-January, marking a fresh high and reinforcing the Philippines’ external liquidity buffer, preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

On an annual basis, dollar reserves expanded by 8.9 percent, from $103.27 billion in January 2025. Month on month, GIR increased by 1.5 percent from $110.83 billion in December last year.

The January GIR likewise topped the previous all-time high of $112 billion recorded at end-September 2024, highlighting the resilience of the country’s external position despite global financial volatility.

GIR refers to a country’s stock of foreign assets held by its central bank. These reserves typically include foreign-denominated securities, foreign exchange, gold and other reserve assets such as the country’s reserve position in the International Monetary Fund and special drawing rights.

It serves as the country’s external liquidity buffer and is used to pay for imports, service foreign debt, support the peso during periods of market stress and cushion the economy against external shocks.

Based on BSP data, the January uptick was driven mainly by gains in gold holdings and foreign exchange balances, which more than offset the slight decline in foreign investments.

Gold reserves climbed to $20.67 billion in January from $18.58 billion in December, reflecting valuation gains amid firm global prices. The central bank’s foreign exchange holdings also rose to $1.21 billion, while the Philippines’ reserve position in the International Monetary Fund edged up to $730.2 million.

These increases helped lift total reserves despite a further easing in foreign investments, which slipped to $85.97 billion from $86.93 billion in the previous month.

The BSP said the latest GIR level “provides a robust external liquidity buffer,” equivalent to 7.5 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income, well above the international benchmark of three months.

It also covers about 4.1 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity, signaling strong capacity to meet near-term foreign obligations.

The BSP reiterated that by convention, GIR is considered adequate if it can finance at least three months of imports and related payments, or provide full cover for short-term external liabilities falling due within the next 12 months.

The current reserve level comfortably meets both criteria, ensuring sufficient foreign exchange to support balance of payments needs even under stressed conditions.

The country’s foreign exchange buffer declined to $96.15 billion in 2022 before picking up to $103.75 in 2023, $106.26 billion in 2024 and $110.83 billion in 2025.