In January-April 2017 Belarus' gold and foreign currency reserves
went up by 3.7%, if calculated in accordance with methods of the
International Monetary Fund, to total $5.1 billion, BelTA learned from
the Information and PR Department of the National Bank of the Republic
of Belarus.
According to the preliminary data, as of May 2017 the country's gold
and foreign currency reserves totaled $5,108.7 million. The growth from
the start of the year made up $181.5 million (3.7%).
In April the country's gold and foreign currency reserves increased
by $92.6 million (18%), following the March reduction by $6.2 million
(0.1%)
In national terms the volume of the gold and foreign currency
reserves was up $263.4 million (4.9%) to $5,672.5 billion as of 1 May.
The decrease in March made up $199.3 million (3.6%). In January-April
2017 the volume of the gold and foreign currency reserves in national
terms went up by $487.5 million, or 9.4%.
The National Bank informed that Belarus' gold and foreign exchange
reserves were bolstered in April thanks to the third tranche of the EFSD
loan, foreign currency purchases by the regulator via the Belarusian
Currency and Stock Exchange, revenues from selling government bonds
nominated in foreign currency by the Finance Ministry and the central
bank, revenues from export duties on oil and oil products, and also the
increasing price for gold at the international market of precious
metals.
The main reason affecting the volume of gold and foreign currency
reserves was the domestic and foreign commitments in foreign currency
honored by the Belarusian government and the National Bank of Belarus.
In 2016 Belarus' gold and foreign currency reserves rose by $751.4
million (18%) to $4.927 billion as of 1 January 2017. The country's
monetary policy for 2017 envisages the growth of gold and forex reserves
by at least $500 million.
Written by belta.by