Business news

MINSK, 7 December (BelTA) - According to the preliminary data, Belarus’ gold and foreign currency reserves totaled $7,413 million as of 1 December 2017, if calculated in accordance with methods of the International Monetary Fund, BelTA learned from the Information and PR Department of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus.

In November 2017, the country’s gold and foreign currency reserves went up by $18.4 million (up 0.2%) following the October growth by $128.6 million (1.8%). The growth from the start of the year made up $2,486.5 billion (50.5%).

Belarus’ gold and foreign exchange reserves were bolstered thanks to 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. The level of reserves was also positively influenced by the increased cost of monetary gold.

The Belarusian government and the National Bank of Belarus honored about $314 million worth of domestic and foreign commitments in November.

In 2016, Belarus’ gold and foreign currency reserves rose by $751 million (18%) to $4.927 billion as of 1 January 2017. The country’s monetary policy for 2017 envisages the growth of gold and forex reserves by at least $500 million.