Philippines' debt rose by 2.4 pct in end-June

MANILA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' debt reached 12.79 trillion pesos (roughly 231.5 billion U.S. dollars) at the end of June after borrowings surged amid the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine Bureau of Treasury said on Friday.

The national government's debt portfolio climbed by 2.4 percent in June due to the net issuances of domestic and external loans as well as currency adjustments, the bureau said, adding the country's foreign debt increased by 7.3 percent in June from the end-December 2021 level.

Of the total debt stock, the bureau said 31.5 percent was sourced externally, while 68.5 percent were domestic borrowings.

The bureau attributed the increment in external debt in June to the impact of the local currency depreciation against the U.S. dollar and the net availment of external financing.