Philippines $75.174 Billion now Rank 26th World’s highest Gross International Reserves

THE PHILIPPINES' foreign currency reserves continued to grow in October 2011, giving the Philippines more than enough of a defense against a deteriorating global economic situation as it ranks now up to the 26th highest World Gross International Reserves..

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday that the country's gross international reserves (GIR) came up to $75.8 billion last month, $600 million more than in September.

The latest figure, which was above the central bank's $75 billion full-year forecast, was mainly due to the central bank's foreign exchange operations, income from its overseas investments and higher valuation of its gold holdings.

It was nearly a third higher than the $57.153 billion recorded in October last year and could nearly pay for a year's worth of imports.

"The appreciable build-up in the reserves level at end-October 2011 resulted mainly from the foreign exchange operations and income from investments abroad of the BSP as well as revaluation gains on the BSP's gold holdings," the central bank said.

Reserves from overseas investments increased slightly by 0.32% to $65.92 billion while the value of gold holdings climbed by 6.09% to $7.91 billion.

"These inflows were partially offset, however, by payments by the national government for its maturing foreign exchange obligations," the BSP added.

The GIR, which cushions the country against external shocks, show a country's capability to pay for imports and service foreign debts. It is also the main indicator of the country's liquidity.

The BSP noted that the latest level could cover 11.2 months worth of imports. It was also equivalent to 10.6 times external debt with maturity of up to 12 months, and 6.4 times such liabilities plus principal payments on longer-term loans falling due within 12 months.

Net international reserves -- which include the revaluation of reserve assets -- rose by $600 million to $75.8 billion in end-October from $75.2 billion in the previous month. These reserves are GIR minus total short-term liabilities.

As the Philippines economy continue to bubble, the countries GIR will also grow upward. The country's GIR now higher than the reserves of Canada, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, and most countries in Europe.

Japan remains the 2nd highest followed by Russia & Saudi Arabia. France ranks 13th lower than South Korea's 8th notch. United Kingdom is on the 20th of $114,180 Billion GIR.