MANILA – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported that the country’s balance of payments (BOP) recorded a deficit of US$2.3 billion in February 2026, bringing the cumulative deficit for January to February to US$2.7 billion.

Despite the BOP shortfall, gross international reserves (GIR) rose to US$113.3 billion at the end of February, providing a robust external liquidity buffer. The reserves are equivalent to 7.5 months of imports of goods and payments for services and primary income, and cover about 4.3 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.

The BOP measures the country’s transactions with the rest of the world, while GIR consist of foreign-denominated securities, foreign exchange, and other assets, including gold. According to the BSP, these reserves help ensure sufficient dollar liquidity to meet import requirements and foreign debt obligations, stabilize the currency, and cushion the economy from external shocks.