Philippine central bank gold holdings jump 70% in 2025 to record

The value of the Philippine central bank’s gold holdings surged almost 70% last year to a record high as the metal jumped.

Gold holdings rose to an all-time high of $18.6 billion at end-2025, according to central bank data released late Wednesday. They accounted for about 17% of its foreign-exchange reserves – a ratio officials had said exceed the ideal.

The rise in the central bank’s gold holdings reflects the surge in the metal, which jumped more than 60% last year. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas does not report the volume of its gold holdings.

Ideally, the precious metal should be anywhere between 8%-12% of the total reserves, Monetary Board member Benjamin Diokno said in October.

(By Ditas B Lopez)