Page 20 - BELRptSept18

5.2.4 Gross international reserves
Belarus' gold and foreign exchange reserves totalled $6.83bn as of 1 July 2018 , said the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB).
According to the preliminary data, Belarus' international reserve assets made up $6.831bn as of 1 July. In June 2018, gold and foreign exchange reserves decreased by $108.2million (by 1.6%) after a decrease of $98.5million (1.4%) in May 2018.
The decrease in the level of international reserve assets in June was due to the scheduled repayment by the National Bank and the government of the Republic of Belarus of the foreign and domestic obligations in foreign currency in the amount of $424mn and also due to the decrease in the price for monetary gold.
Belarus' gold and foreign exchange reserves were bolstered thanks to the purchase of foreign currency by the National Bank via the Belarusian Currency Stock Exchange, the budget revenues, including export duties on oil and oil products and revenues from selling government bonds nominated in foreign currency by the central bank and the Finance Ministry.
According to the country's main monetary guidelines for 2018 the volume of international reserve assets, taking into account the honoring of domestic and foreign commitments in foreign currency should reach at least $6bn on 1 January 2019.
The National Bank of Belarus (NBB) forecasts the country's international reserves at $6.5bnn in the end of 2018 , the regulator said in a statement on July 26. At the same time, the NBB sees "improvements" in the structure of the reserves "as the share of borrowing is falling". "An insignificant reduction of the gold and forex reserves in January-June is attributed to the scheduled settlement of forex obligations of the government and the NBB — the funds for that were earmarked last year," the statement reads. The foreign exchange reserves of Belarus declined by $108mn y/y, or $1.6mn month-on-month, to $6.831bn in June. The external state debt of Belarus totalled $16.4bn as of June 1, up by $332mn or 2% from early January, according to the finance ministry in Minsk. The result was mainly attributed to a $600mn placement of a 12-year Eurobond with a 6.2% coupon. Belarus also borrowed $377mn from Russian banks and the government.
20 BELARUS Country Report September 2018 www.intellinews.com