Friday, July 10 2020 20:08

ArmInfo.  The gross international  reserves of Armenia decreased by 7.1% or $ 201.3 million in the first  half of 2020 (against a decline of 1.7% a year earlier), amounting to  $ 2.648 billion. This is evidenced by the data of the Central Bank of  Armenia. Of these, the lion's share - $ 2.597 billion falls on  external assets in hard currency, and the share of SDRs in the IMF  amounted to $ 51 million. According to the regulator's report, for  the first half of this year foreign assets in hard currency decreased  by 8.7%, and the share of SDR in the IMF jumped 8.3 times. Moreover,  in monthly terms, the decline in BMD was recorded in January-April  (with the highest rate in January - 6.3%), after which growth  followed in May, but in June the decline resumed. And the share of  SDRs in the IMF was decreasing monthly during the first quarter,  freezing in April at the same level, then in May it jumped sharply,  but again in June it marked a drawdown.

However, the annual dynamics (June 2020 to June 2019) turned out to  be upward: BMD increased by 19.3% or by $ 427.9 million, while  foreign assets in foreign currency increased by 17.6% and the share  of SDR in the IMF jumped 4.4 times. A year earlier, in June 2019 to  June 2018, the dynamics were also upward, but the pace was more  modest: BMD increased by 11.5%, foreign assets in foreign currency -  by 11.2%, the share of SDR in the IMF - 2.1 times.

For the II quarter of 2020, Armenia's gross international reserves  turned in the direction of a 2.6% growth from a 9.4% decline in the I  quarter. Moreover, external assets in hard currency went from a 9.3%  decline to a 0.7% increase, and the share of SDR in the IMF after a  decline of 55.7% in the first quarter jumped 18.6 times in the second  quarter. A year earlier, the quarterly dynamics were similar - again,  a trend reversal from recession to growth was recorded, with the VMR  and external assets in hard currency increasing rates were higher  than the current ones, and the share of SDR in the IMF was more  modest.  In June 2020, gross international reserves slipped by 2%  from 8.5% growth in May, and in their structure almost the same  deterioration was observed for external assets in hard currency -  from 5.7% growth to 1.2% decline, with a decrease in the share of SDR  in the IMF by 31.5% after a jump in May by 27 times. A year earlier,  in June 2019, the opposite picture was observed: BMD increased by  4.4% after the May decline by 1.1%, while the dynamics of foreign  assets in foreign currency increased by 5.6% from May 2.7% -th  decline, but the share of SDR in the IMF, like the current dynamics,  decreased by 67.6% after the May jump 17 times.

Recall that in 2019 the gross international reserves of Armenia  increased by 25.7%, with the growth of foreign assets in hard  currency by 25.8% and the share of SDR in the IMF by 3%. For the IV  quarter of 2019, gross international reserves grew by 18%, with an  increase in foreign assets in foreign currency at 17.7% and a jump in  the share of SDR in the IMF by 9 times. During 2019, the upward  dynamics of the BMR was observed in February-March, June,  August-October and December, similar to the periods of growth of  foreign assets in hard currency, and the share of SDR in the IMF only  jumped in May and October.

It should be noted that the share of banking gold in the gross  international reserves of Armenia was reset in December 2003.