MINSK, 6 September (BelTA) – The National Bank of the Republic of Belarus expects the current level of the gold and foreign exchange reserves to drop slightly by the end of 2019, BelTA learned from Aleksandr Timoshenko, Head of the Information and Public Relations Office, Press Secretary of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB).
Belarus' gold and foreign exchange reserves have increased by $1.7 billion since the beginning of the year. The NBRB spokesman attributed the growth primarily to the favorable situation on the home forex market and growing prices for gold on the international market.
He continued: “If we talk about forecasts for the remaining period of 2019 taking into account the amount of forex commitments the government and the central bank have to honor in September-December – some $1.5 billion – as well as the expected foreign currency earnings, we expect a slight decrease in the level of the international reserve assets by the end of the year.”
BelTA reported earlier that according to preliminary data Belarus' gold and foreign exchange reserves totaled the equivalent of $8,891 million on 1 September. In line with the major monetary management guidelines for 2019, the gold and foreign exchange reserves are supposed to be at least $7.1 billion as of 1 January 2020.
