MINSK, 30 November (BelTA) – The international reserve assets of Belarus will amount to at least $6 billion by the end of 2023. This is envisaged by the main monetary management guidelines for the year 2023 approved by the presidential decree, BelTA has learned.
“The National Bank and the government of the Republic of Belarus will keep working to maintain the necessary level of international reserve assets of Belarus in order to ensure macroeconomic stability. The international reserve assets of Belarus are projected to be at least $6 billion by the end of 2023,” the document reads.
In 2023 the monetary policy will be focused on slowing down inflation benchmarked against the consumer price index. The target is 7-8% (December 2023 as against December 2022). As part of the money supply control policy, the average broad money supply is projected to increase by 12-16% (December 2023 as against December 2022), the ruble monetary base is to increase by 10-12%.
In order to maintain financial stability in 2023, measures will be taken to curtail systemic risks, ensure the stable operation of banks, non-bank financial institutions, the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus, and non-credit financial organizations.
The National Bank will focus on counteracting systemic threats to financial stability and on building up capacity of banks to provide credit support to the economy as it is undergoing structural transformation and adaptation to a new environment.
According to the main monetary management guidelines, the situation in the foreign exchange market returned to normal in April-September 2022. The net demand for foreign currency that emerged in February-March 2022 amidst negative expectations of economic operators gave way to a net supply of foreign currency, which helped maintain international reserve assets that amounted to $7.5 billion as of 1 October.
