THE Philippines’ balance of payments (BOPs) position hit a $3.4-billion surplus in June, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed, surging to a 21-month high and markedly lowering the year-to-date deficit to P3.88 billion.
Last month’s result — the largest since September 2024’s $3.53 billion — was markedly higher than the surpluses of $131 million and $226 million recorded in May and a year earlier.
The January-June tally subsequently narrowed from $7.28 billion in the first five months of 2026 and was also substantially lower compared to $5.59 billion recorded in the first half of 2025.
“The year-to-date BOP position reflected the continued trade-in-goods deficit and net outflows from foreign portfolio investments,” the central bank said in a statement.
“This was partly offset by the sustained net inflows from personal remittances of overseas Filipinos (OFs), foreign borrowings by the NG (national government), trade in services and foreign direct investment,” it added.
The BOP is a summary of a country’s transactions with the rest of the world for a specific period. It consists of the current account, which covers trade in goods, services, and primary and secondary income (which includes OF remittances); the capital account — capital transfers and nonfinancial assets; and the financial account or investments from abroad.
The BOP position ended in a $5.7-billion deficit last year, a reversal from 2024’s $609-million surplus. The central bank expects the BOP deficit to widen this year to $10.7 billion, up from the $7.8-billion outlook three months earlier. The forecast for next year was set at $11.0 billion.
The country’s gross international reserves (GIR), meanwhile, rose to $104.74 billion as of end-June from $103.99 billion a month earlier, the BSP also said, the highest recorded since March 2026’s $106.64 billion.
“These provide sufficient foreign currency to meet the country’s import needs and service its external debt obligations and serve as a buffer against external economic shocks,” the central bank said.
It is also equivalent to about 3.7 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity and could cover up to 6.8 months’ worth of import of goods and payment of services.
“The increase in reserves was mainly driven by the national government’s net foreign currency deposits with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the BSP’s net income from its investments abroad,” the central bank said.
These were partly offset by lower valuations of the BSP’s gold and foreign currency reserve assets, along with the national government’s withdrawals from its foreign currency deposits to service external debt.
The country ended 2025 with $110.8 billion reserves, higher than the projected $109 billion. GIR is expected to end 2026 at a lower $104 billion instead of $111 billion and rise to $105 billion next year.
GIR consists of the BSP’s foreign investments, gold, foreign exchange, reserve position in the International Monetary Fund and special drawing rights.
It helps “a country finance its imports and foreign debt obligations, stabilize its currency and provide a buffer against external economic shocks,” the central bank said.
It is considered adequate if it can finance at least three months’ worth of the country’s imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.
It is also considered sufficient if it is enough to pay off all of the country’s foreign liabilities that will fall due in the next 12 months.
