MANILA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' overall balance of payments (BOP) posted a surplus of 3.1 billion U.S. dollars in February 2025, a significant turnaround from the 196 million dollar deficit recorded in February 2024, the country's central bank said Wednesday.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the February 2025 BOP surplus reflected the national government's net foreign currency deposits with the BSP, which include proceeds from Republic of the Philippines Global Bonds, and net income from the BSP's foreign investments.

This surplus led to a cumulative BOP deficit of 992 million dollars as of February 2025, slightly higher than the 936-million-dollar deficit reported in February 2024, the central bank added.

Based on preliminary data, the BSP said the year-to-date deficit reflected mainly the widening trade in goods deficit and net outflows from foreign portfolio investments but was partially offset by net receipts from foreign borrowings by the national government and personal remittances.

The BSP said the improved BOP position mirrored the increase in final gross international reserves (GIR) to 107.4 billion dollars at the end of February 2025, up from 103.3 billion dollars at the end of January 2025.

According to the bank, the latest GIR level provides a robust external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.4 months' worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.

"It covers approximately 3.8 times the country's short-term external debt based on residual maturity," the BSP added. Enditem

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