Belarus foreign reserves increase by 3.1% m/m in August

Belarus foreign reserves increase by 3.1% m/m in August
Belarus FX reserves rise to $7.2bn as of September 1 / bne IntelliNews
By bne IntelliNews September 7, 2018

The foreign exchange reserves of Belarus increased by $216mn, or 3.1% month-on-month, to $7.246bn in March following a 2.9% m/m increase in July, the National Bank of Belarus (NBB) said in a statement on September 7.

The result was attributed to revenues from export duties on oil and oil products, sales of FX-denominated bonds on the domestic market, purchase of foreign exchange at the Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange.

In August, the Belarusian government and the NBB also fulfilled external and internal foreign exchange obligations worth about $190mn.

According to the BBB's monetary policy guidelines for 2018, the volume of international reserve assets as of early 2019, taking into account the repayment of foreign exchange internal and external obligations by the government, should be at least $6bn.

According to official data, The external state debt of Belarus totalled $16.5bn as of August 1, down by $179mn or 1.1% from early January.

The result was mainly attributed to a $600mn placement of a 12-year Eurobond with a 6.2% coupon. Belarus also borrowed $515.1mn from Russian banks and the government. The government in Minsk also borrowed $302.5mn from Chinese banks; $86mn from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD); and $3.3mn from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB).

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