Page 62 - RusRPTOct23

5.2.4 Gross international reserves
Russia’s international reserves amounted to $576bn as of September 22,
2023, a decrease by $0.7bn compared with the previous week, the Central Bank reported. As of September 15, the country’s international reserves amounted to $576.7bn.
The Russian government will continue to keep reserves of the National Wealth Fund (NWF) in foreign currency, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at the Moscow Financial Forum on September 28.
"Currency purchases are the competence of the Bank of Russia. They have suspended "mirroring" (of the operations of the Finance Ministry) for a time being. The Bank of Russia will decide when to make currency purchases. But in this part, the budget rule has not changed. We envisaged storing the resources of the National Wealth Fund in foreign currency, which gives balance and predictability to budget reserves of the National Wealth Fund, we will continue to do this," he said.
In August, the Bank of Russia decided not to purchase foreign currency on the domestic market as part of doubling the regular operations of the Finance Ministry. The regulator explained this by the intention to reduce volatility on financial markets.
Russia has some $150bn in “shadow reserves” from non-sanctioned oil exports. According to PIIE calculations of based on proprietary data, Russia’s export earnings from oil remain substantial, at about $50bn in January–April
62 RUSSIA Country Report October 2023 www.intellinews.com