OREANDA-NEWS. March 6, 2009. In January-February 2008 Belarus’ gold and foreign exchange reserves calculated using IMF methods increased by USD 265.8 million (8.7%) to a total of USD 3,326.9 million. The figure increased by 13.6% in February alone.

In line with the methods used by the International Monetary Fund, Belarus’ international reserves are defined as marketable foreign assets, which consist of monetary gold, special drawing rights, the country’s reserve position in the IMF and currency reserves. The reserve assets can be quickly used for money market interventions in order to stabilize the exchange rate of the national currency, to finance the import of goods and services by the government, for paying and servicing the foreign national debt and for other purposes.

In January-February 2008 Belarus’ international reserve assets calculated using national methods increased by USD 152 million (4.2%) to USD 3,814.2 million. In February the figure swelled by 13.4%.

As of March 1, hard currency accounted for the greatest share of the international reserve assets of Belarus (USD 2,799.2 million, or 73.4%) along with precious metals and gems (USD 933.7 million, or 24.5%). In February the hard currency gained 0.7% while the precious metals and gems swelled by 16.5%. Other assets amounted to USD 81.3 million, or 2.1%.

The NBRB expects the country’s gold and foreign currency reserves to reach USD 5,870-7,750 million in 2009.