Gross international reserves (GIR) level, based on preliminary data, settled at $106.2 billion as of end-March from the end-February level of $107.4 billion. This latest GIR level provides a robust external liquidity buffer, equivalent to 7.3 months' worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income Moreover, it covers about 3.7 times the country's short-term external debt based on residual maturity. The month-on-month decrease in the GIR level reflected mainly the drawdowns by the national government (NG) on its foreign currency deposits with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to meet its external debt obligations and BSP’s net foreign exchange operations. Similarly, net international reserves (NIR) decreased by $1.2 billion to $106.2 billion as of end-March from the end-February level of $107.4 billion. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas