Foreign exchange reserves of Belarus have been growing for more than a year. By February this year, they reached their record volume of almost $16 billion, according to the weekly macroeconomic review of the Eurasian Development Bank, cited by Belarusian portal sb.by.
EDB analysts noted: Reserves have been increasing for 14 consecutive months, with the January increase being the highest since June 2017.
The key growth factor was the increase in the value of gold in the structure of reserves by $1.16 billion against the background of rising world prices for it. Additional support for the dynamics of reserves was also provided by the growth of reserve assets in foreign currency by $0.1 bln.
No less important is the fact that monetary gold accounts for more than half of Belarus’ foreign exchange reserves. This puts Belarus at 35-39th place in the world. The reserves are growing thanks to the purchase of gold and foreign currency by the National Bank, as well as the growth of world prices for precious metals, ensuring the country’s economic stability.
The achieved level of reserves provides coverage of about 90% of the public external debt,” noted in the bank.
