The Philippines’ balance of payments (BOP) shifted to a $2-billion deficit in March 2025 from a $1.2-billion surplus in the same month last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Monday.
The BOP deficit reflected the national government’s (NG) drawdowns on its foreign currency deposits with the BSP to meet its external debt obligations and the BSP’s net foreign exchange operations.
It brought the cumulative BOP level to a $3-billion deficit, marking a reversal from the $238-million surplus recorded a year earlier.
The first-quarter deficit reflected mainly the widening trade in goods deficit. This was partly muted by the continued net inflows from personal remittances, foreign direct investments and foreign borrowings by the national government.
The BOP position mirrored the decrease in the final gross international reserves (GIR) to $106.7 billion as of end-March 2025 from $107.4 billion as of end-February 2025.
Data showed that the latest GIR level still provides a robust external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.4 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.
It also covers about 3.6 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.
