Preliminary central bank data showed the country held $103.379 billion in gross international reserves (GIR) as of end-July, a level the regulator said “remained adequate.” In a statement on Friday, the central bank said its reserves shrank mainly due to its net foreign exchange operations, especially as the strong dollar weighed once again on the peso. Dollar reserves are the central bank’s foreign assets held mostly as investments in foreign-issued securities, foreign exchange and monetary gold, among others. The central bank noted that its end-July reserves could cover about 3.6 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity. The BSP expects its foreign reserves to fall to $104 billion by end-2026 from the $110.8 billion it held last year.