Belarus' gross international reserves totalled $7bn or only two months of import cover

Belarus' gross international reserves totalled $7bn or only two months of import cover
Belarus' gross international reserves totalled $7bn or only two months of import cover / bne IntelliNews
By bne IntelliNews August 7, 2018

Belarus' gross international reserves (GIR) totalled just over $7bn as of August 1, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB) said.

The figure is equivalent to two months of import cover, whereas most economists believe a country needs at least three months of import cover to ensure the stability of the national currency.

Belarus' GIR was $7,030.2bn as of 1 August, according to the preliminary data, bolstered by the purchase of foreign currency by the National Bank via the Belarusian Currency Stock Exchange, budget revenues including export duties on oil and oil products, and revenues from selling government bonds denominated in foreign currency by the central bank and the finance ministry, reported BelTA.

In July 2018, gold and foreign exchange reserves went up by $198.8mn (2.9%) after a decrease of $108.2mn (1.6%) in June 2018.

The National Bank and the Belarusian government honoured foreign and domestic obligations in foreign currency amounting to $450mn in July.

The amount of reserves could fall over the rest of the year. According to the country's main monetary guidelines for 2018 the volume of international reserve assets, taking into account the honouring of domestic and foreign commitments in foreign currency, should be at least $6bn on January 1, 2019.

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