MANILA — The Philippines' gross international reserves added more than $3 billion between January and February, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said on Friday.

GIR refers to the country's reserves of US dollars and other foreign currencies that can be used for trade and settling obligations, as well as its reserves of precious metals, including gold.

The BSP said that based on preliminary data, the country's GIR climbed to $106.7 billion as of the end of February 2025 from the end-January 2025 level of $103.3 billion.

This was equivalent to 7.5 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income, the central bank said. It was also about 3.8 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.    

"The month-on-month increase in the GIR level reflected mainly the (1) national government’s (NG) net foreign currency deposits with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which include proceeds from its issuance of ROP Global Bonds, (2) upward valuation adjustments in the BSP’s gold holdings due to the increase in the price of gold in the international market, and (3) net income from the BSP’s investments abroad," the BSP said. 

The country's net international reserves also increased by $3.4 billion to $106.6 billion as of end-February 2025 from the end-January 2025 level of US$103.2 billion, the central bank said. 

The GIR was thrust into the spotlight recently after former President Rodrigo Duterte claimed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had stolen and sold the country's gold reserves. 

Malacanang however dismissed Duterte's allegation and pointed out that the BSP had already clarified the issue about gold sales last year.