ArmInfo.Gross international reserves of Armenia for the Q1 of 2019 amounted to $ 2.151 billion. This is evidenced by the data of the Central Bank of Armenia. Of these, the lion's share - $ 2.149 billion accounted for external assets in hard currency, and the share of SDR in the IMF was $ 2.1 million.
According to the regulator's report, for the Q1 of this year the value of gross international reserves decreased by 4.8%, due to a decrease in foreign assets in hard currency by 4.6% and a decline in the share of SDR in the IMF by 64.7%. In y-o-y terms (March 2019 to March 2018), the value of gross international reserves decreased by 3.7%, due to a decrease in foreign assets in hard currency by 3.8% with a sharp increase in the share of SDR in the IMF by 3.8 fold.
Put it into perspective, note that in Q1 of 2018, international reserves decreased by 3.5%, due to a decline in foreign assets in hard currency by 3.2% and a decline in the share of SDR in the IMF by 92.3%. In March 2019, gross international reserves grew by 3.7%, and in their structure almost the same growth was observed in foreign assets in hard currency - by 3.8%, while the SDR share in the IMF fell by 39.5%, while the year earlier in the same month, international reserves declined by 2% with the same decline in foreign assets in hard currency and the meager increase in the share of SDR in the IMF (by 0.2%).
To note, in 2018, gross international reserves declined by 2.8%, with a similar decline in foreign assets in hard currency and a decline in the share of SDR in the IMF by 17.5%. In the fourth quarter of 2018, gross international reserves increased by 4.6%, while external assets grew in hard currency by 4.5% and the SDR share in the IMF jumped 3.7 fold. In December 2018, the gross international reserves increased by 6.2%, and in their structure almost the same growth was observed in foreign assets in hard currency - by 6.3%, while the share of SDR in the IMF fell by 14%. Over the course of 2018, the upward trend in gross international reserves was observed in July-September and in November-December, similar to the periods of growth of foreign assets in hard currency, and the share of SDR in the IMF jumped only in April and November. To recall the share of banking gold in Armenia's gross international reserves was reset to zero in December 2003.