The gross international reserves of the central bank rose to a new high of $39.316 billion at the end of February from $39.2 billion in end-January, boosted by loans from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and higher gold prices, the Bangko Sentral said yesterday.

The central bank’s gold holdings increased to 11.92 percent of the reserves at the end of February from 11.64 percent in January with the recovery of metal prices to above $900 per troy ounce price after falling back to the $800 level in October.

The central bank’s gold holdings hit $4.697 billion at the end of February from January’s $4.567 billion.

The central bank said in statement attributed the increase in the reserves to its net foreign exchange operations, which include buying and selling of dollars in the spot currency market.

The international reserves consist mainly of holdings in dollars, gold and other currencies and foreign investments.

The central bank’s foreign investments dipped slightly to $33.605 billion in February from January’s $33.682 billion.

The central bank expects the gross international reserves at $37.5 billion to $38.5 billion this year. It also expects the balance of payments to register a surplus of $700 million.

The international reserves are a key indicator of the economy as they serve as a gauge of the country’s ability to pay for its transactions with the rest of the world.

The February reserves were enough to pay for close to six months worth of the country’s imports and thrice the country’s maturing short-term debt.

The BoP, meanwhile, is a record of the country’s transactions with the rest of the world from imports, exports, loans, investments to debt servicing. A surplus in the BoP means the economy generated more foreign exchange than paid out and usually translates into a higher level of reserves and helps support the peso. Eileen A. Mencias