THE country’s outstanding external debt totaled $82.67 billion as of the third quarter of 2019, up from end-June and a year earlier, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed over the weekend.

It was $1.4 billion more than the $81.3 billion recorded three months earlier, largely attributed to net availments of $2.2 billion attributed to bond issuances of the national government and private local banks.