Manila: The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced that while the country's balance of payments (BOP) position recorded a deficit in July, the gross international reserves (GIR) remain healthy.

According to Philippines News Agency, data released late Wednesday indicated that the BOP, capturing the country's transactions with the rest of the world, showed a USD1.5-billion deficit in July. This resulted in a cumulative BOP position of a USD5.3-billion deficit from January to July 2026, a decrease from the USD5.8-billion deficit in the same period last year.

The BSP highlighted that the year-to-date BOP position was influenced by a continued trade-in-goods deficit and net outflows from foreign portfolio investments. These were partially mitigated by sustained net inflows from personal remittances of overseas Filipinos, foreign borrowings by the national government, trade in services, and foreign direct investment.

The BOP position led to a reduction in the country's GIR, which fell from USD104.7 billion in June to USD103.3 billion in July. GIR comprises eligible foreign assets, including securities, currency and deposits, reserve positions in the fund, gold, special drawing rights, and other reserve assets, held by the central bank.

Despite the decline, the BSP stated that the GIR remains sufficient to meet the country's import needs, service its external debt obligations, and act as a buffer against external economic shocks. The end-July GIR level can cover up to 6.7 months' worth of imports of goods and payments for services and primary income, surpassing the international benchmark of three to four months of import cover.