Forex reserves expand to $80.95 B in July

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The gross international reserves of the Philippines (GIR) rose to $80.95 billion in July, according to preliminary data released by the local central bank today.

The July GIR was $200 million higher than the $80.73 billion posted in June.

The Philippine central bank said in a statement that the GIR continued to increase in July on the back of its foreign exchange operations, income from its investments abroad, and foreign currency deposits made by the Bureau of the Treasury.

The July GIR can cover 11 months' worth of the country's imports of goods and payments of services and income.

It is also equivalent to 7.7 times the country's short-term external debt based on original maturity and 5.7 times based on residual maturity.