Monday, November 23 2020 18:26

ArmInfo. Armenia's gross international reserves in January- October 2020 decreased by 18.7% - to $ 2.316 billion. In y-o-y terms (October 2020 versus October  2019), this indicator decreased by 6.2%, and in October alone - by  5.2%. This is evidenced by the data of the Central Bank of Armenia.

In the structure of reserves, $ 2.278 billion is foreign assets in  hard currency, which sagged by 7.4% in y-o- y terms (October 2020 to  October 2019), and in January-October alone - by 19.9%. The share of  SDR in the IMF amounted to $ 38.2 million, having grown 4.6-fold in  y-o-y terms, with a 6.2-fold rise in January- October of this year  and a sharp jump was observed in May, after which there was a  reduction.

In October 2020 alone, foreign assets in hard currency sank by 5.3%,  while growth of the share of SDR in the IMF increased insignificantly  - by only 0.3%.

Moreover, in monthly terms, the decline in the gross international  reserves was recorded in January-April, in June-July and  September-October, in particular, the largest decline was recorded in  January (by 6.3%), followed by an increase in May (by 8.5%) , but in  June the decline resumed with a slowdown in July, followed by growth  in August, but the decline resumed since September. And the share of  SDR in the IMF decreased monthly during the first quarter, frozen at  the same level in April, then jumped sharply in May, but in June  again outlining a subsidence with a continued downtrend in  July-September, followed by a scanty increase in October.

To note for comparison that in January-October 2019 gross  international reserves increased by 9.3%. In their structure,  external assets in hard currency increased by 9.2%, while the share  of SDR in the IMF increased by 38.1%.  The annual dynamics at that  time (October 2019 to October 2018) looked as follows: gross  international reserves increased by 18.5%, with almost the same  growth in foreign assets in hard currency (by 18.2%) and a 5.1-fold  jump in the share of SDR in the IMF. In October 2019, an increase in  international reserves by 2.5% was triggered by an almost similar  increase in foreign assets in hard currency (by 2.2%) and a 12- fold  jump in the share of SDR in the IMF.

To recall, in 2019, the gross international reserves of Armenia  increased by 25.7%, with an increase in foreign assets in hard  currency by 25.8% and the share of SDR in the IMF by 3%. In the  quarter IV of 2019, gross international reserves increased by 18%,  with an increase in foreign assets in hard currency by 17.7% and a  9-fold jump in the share of SDR in the IMF. During 2019, an upward  trend in the gross international reserves 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 jumped only in May and October.

It should be noted that the share of bank gold in the gross  international reserves of Armenia was zeroed back in December 2003.