Belarusian gold, forex reserves to IMF standards up 2% in Jan-April
MINSK. May 7 (Interfax) - Belarus's gold and forex reserves, as per International Monetary Fund standards, stood at just under $8.255 billion on the first of this month, up 2% from the start of this year, the National Bank of Belarus (NBB) said in a statement.
According to NBB data, the reserves grew by $159.9 million in January-April and 1.3% ($106.2 million) in April alone. "The increase in the gold and forex reserves was facilitated by the arrival of the fifth tranche of the EurAsEC [Eurasian Economic Community] Anti-Crisis Fund credit in the amount of $440 million. A significant decrease in gold prices on the international market for precious metals had a negative effect on the volume of the gold and forex reserves. Foreign and domestic obligations in foreign currency were fulfilled in full measure by the National Bank and Belarusian government," the NBB said.
Belarus's gold and forex reserves to IMF standards hit an all-time high of $8.330 billion on July 1 of last year.
The country's gold and forex reserves as calculated to national stood at $9.284 billion on May 1, up 5.9% since the year began and 0.7% over the preceding month.
Belarus's gold and forex reserves to IMF standards grew 2.3% in 2012 after expanding 57.4% the year before. The NBB predicts they will increase by from $300 million to $700 million this year, or by 3.7% to 8.6%. NBB chief Nadezhda Yermakova estimates that they will be at least $8.3 billion at the end of the year.
