* Forex reserves can cover 11.1 months worth of imports     * Equal to 4.8 times short-term foreign debt, residual maturity basis      MANILA, June 6 (Reuters) - The Philippine central bank on Friday released preliminary data on gross international reserves (GIR) at the end of May:            KEY DATA     May     Apr     Mar     Feb     Jan     Dec    GIR ($bln)  79.957  79.844  79.645  80.540  79.357  83.187       NOTE: April figure was revised.          KEY POINTS:     - The rise in foreign reserves from April was mainly due to the central bank's foreign exchange operations and the government's foreign currency deposits, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said in a statement.     - Cash remittances, which help power domestic consumption and boost the country's foreign reserves, grew 6.5 percent in March from a year earlier, bringing total remittances in the first three months of the year to $5.5 billion, or 6 percent higher than a year ago.  
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       - The central bank forecasts record gross international reserves of $88 billion by end of this year, from $83.2 billion at end-2013.     - The central bank expects the country to end 2014 with a balance of payments surplus of $3 billion, or 0.9 percent of gross domestic product, narrower than the previous year's $5.1 billion surplus.     - The central bank kept the benchmark rate steady at a record low 3.5 percent on May 8 but raised banks' reserve requirements for the second time in as many meetings on concerns that persistently high liquidity could stoke inflation. Its next monetary policy review is June 19.        (Reporting by Erik dela Cruz; Editing by Richard Borsuk)  ((enrico.delacruz@thomsonreuters.com)(+632 841-8934)(Reuters Messaging: enrico.delacruz.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))  Keywords: PHILIPPINES ECONOMY/RESERVES