Manila: The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced that the country's gross international reserves (GIR) increased to USD105.5 billion by the end of May, up from USD105.3 billion in April.

According to Philippines News Agency, the BSP attributed this month-on-month growth primarily to the upward valuation adjustments in its gold holdings, driven by rising gold prices in the international market. Additional factors contributing to the increase included net income from the BSP's overseas investments and net foreign currency deposits from the national government with the BSP.

The BSP's reserve assets are comprised of foreign investments, gold, foreign exchange, reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and special drawing rights. The net international reserves, defined as the difference between the central bank's reserve assets (GIR) and reserve liabilities (such as short-term foreign debt and credit and loans from the IMF), also saw an increase, reaching USD105.34 billion in May from USD105.26 billion in April.

"This latest GIR level provides a robust external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.3 months' worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income," the BSP stated. It also covers about 3.7 times the country's short-term external debt based on residual maturity. By convention, the GIR is considered adequate if it can cover at least three months' worth of the country's imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.