PH debt up slightly to P16 trillion as of October

The country’s total outstanding debt slightly increased by 0.8% to P16.02 trillion as of end-October, with nearly 68% owed to the domestic market or lenders.

“The increase was primarily driven by the valuation impact of peso depreciation against the US dollar from P56.017 at end-September 2024 to P58.198 at end-October 2024,” the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.

Domestic debt, accounting for about 67.98% of the total debt stock, amounted to P10.89 trillion, 0.4% lower than the end-September level.

The BTr said the decline was primarily due to the P52.65 billion net redemption of government securities, partially offset by the P6.23 billion escalation in peso conversion of US dollar-denominated domestic debt due to the weakened peso.

The total external debt, meanwhile, went up by 3.5 percent to P5.13 trillion.

“The increase was driven by net foreign loan availabilities totaling P20.47 billion, as well as foreign exchange movements, which added P152.90 billion to external debt,” the BTr said.

The Treasury noted that the impact of peso depreciation against the US dollar also increased external debt.