Belarus's gold, forex reserves down 1.6% in Jan-July

MINSK. Aug 5 (Interfax) - Belarus's gold and foreign exchange reserves amounted to $14.19 billion as of August 1, 2026, compared to $14.42 billion at the beginning of the year, the country's National Bank said.

Belarus's gold and foreign exchange reserves therefore decreased by $210 million or 1.6% in January-July. In July, reserves grew 0.2% (by $36.9 million) after a decline of 5.9% (by $881.8 million) in June and 1.5% (by $228.6 million) in May.

The value of monetary gold in the reserves as of early August amounted to $6.98 billion, decreasing 6.6% in 7M; in July, the figure changed insignificantly (a decline of $1.4 million) after a fall of 11.4% in June.

Foreign exchange reserves have grown 4.9% since the beginning of the year to $5.81 billion; in July they increased 0.7% after growing 0.4% in June and declining 1.9% in May.

International Monetary Fund special drawing rights (SDRs) account for $1.4 billion of the reserves.

Belarus's gold and foreign exchange reserves increased 1.6-fold in 2025, following growth of 9.8% in 2024, a decline of 2.5% in 2023 and a decline of 5.9% in 2022.

According to the National Bank's target forecast, the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves should amount to at least $9.2 billion at the end of 2026, taking into account upcoming payments on external government debt.