And while Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas implemented liquidity enhancing measures at the height of the global credit crunch, these were non-inflationary. Domestic liquidity growth as of October last year was 12.5%. On the other hand, full-year inflation at 3.2 percent was well within our target range of 2.5 to 4.5 percent.
This indicates that we made appropriate decisions taken 18–24 months ago, the estimated time lag for monetary policy to have full impact. Our external position remained strong, with a confidence-building balance of payments surplus of $ billion for the first 11 months and record high gross international reserves at a preliminary $ billion by year-end. Equally important, our banking system remained sound and stable.