Manila, May 19 -- The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said the country's balance of payments (BOP) position continued to a post a deficit in April this year, but noted that gross international reserves (GIR) remain healthy.

In a statement Monday, the BSP said the country's BOP posted a deficit of USD2.6 billion, reflecting the national government's (NG) drawdowns on its foreign currency deposits with the BSP to meet its external debt obligations and pay for its various expenditures, and the BSP's net foreign exchange operations.

The BOP summarizes a country's economic transactions with the rest of the world for a specific period.

The overall position can be in surplus, deficit, or balance.

The deficit during the month brought the year-to-...