MANILA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines posted a record high gross international reserves (GIR) in August when it soared to 85.895 billion U.S. dollars, the local central bank said Wednesday.
The August preliminary GIR level rose 0.39 billion U.S. dollars from the July level of 85.51 billion U.S. dollars.
Central bank governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the increase on the GIR was mainly due to the national government's (NG) net foreign currency deposits and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' foreign exchange operations and income from investments abroad.
"These were partially offset by payments made by the NG for its maturing foreign exchange obligations and revaluation adjustments on the BSP's gold holdings resulting from the decrease in the price of gold in the international market," he said.
The August GIR leval can cover 10.5 months' worth of imports of foods and payments of services and income, he said.
It is also equivalent to 6.0 times the country's short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.3 times based on residual maturity, the official added.
