Belarus’ gold and foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.048 billion in August, reaching $15.24 billion as of Sept. 1, the National Bank of Belarus said. The previous time the country’s reserves exceeded $15 billion was on June 1.
The increase in reserves in August was mainly due to a $929.8 million rise in the value of monetary gold, driven by higher prices for the precious metal. The value of special drawing rights increased by $9.3 million, while foreign-currency reserve assets rose by $108.7 million. The reserve position in the IMF and other assets, amounting to $0.03 million and $0.1 million, respectively, remained unchanged.
Since the beginning of the year, the reserves have increased by $820.2 million, including a $445.2 million rise in the value of monetary gold, while special drawing rights declined by $1.9 million. Foreign-currency reserve assets increased by $376.9 million.
