Business news

MINSK, 6 April (BelTA) – Belarus’ gold and foreign exchange reserves totaled $6.99 billion as of 1 April 2018, BelTA learned from the Information and PR Department of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB).

According to the preliminary data, Belarus’ gold and foreign exchange reserves totaled $6.994 billion (in equivalent) as of 1 April 2018.

In March 2018, the country’s gold and foreign exchange reserves went down by $98.8 million (or 1.4%) after the increase of $616.1 million (or 9.5%) in February.

The decrease in the gold and foreign exchange reserves in March was due to the scheduled fulfillment the external and internal obligations in foreign currency by the government and the National Bank in the amount of over $415 million.

In March Belarus kept the level of its international gold and foreign exchange reserves thanks foreign exchange receipts to the budget, including the revenues from the export duties on oil and oil products, revenues from the sales of bonds denominated in foreign exchange by the National Bank and the Finance Ministry in the domestic market and the purchase of foreign currency at the Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange.

According to the country’s main monetary guidelines for 2018, the volume of international reserve assets, taking into account the repayment of domestic and foreign commitments in foreign currency is projected to reach at least $6 billion on 1 January 2019.