ArmInfo. Armenia's gross international reserves increased in January- April 2021 by 14.3% or by $ 375.1 million, amounting to $ 2.991 billion, as evidenced by the data of the Central Bank of Armenia.
Of these, the lion's share - $ 2.952 billion - falls on foreign assets in hard currency, and the share of SDR in the IMF amounted to $ 38.9 million. According to the regulator's report, in January-April of this year foreign assets in hard currency increased by 13.2%, and the share of SDR in the IMF grew 4.3-fold.
Annual dynamics (April 2021 to April 2020) also turned out to be ascending: gross international reserves increased by 20.1% or by $ 499.5 million, with an increase of foreign assets in hard currency by 18.6% and a jump in the share of SDR in the IMF 14.3-fold.
At the same time, in April alone, the gross international reserves slowed down the decline to 0.6% from 5.5% in March, after the February jump by 33% and the January decline by 8.2%. A similar volatility on a monthly basis was observed in foreign assets in hard currency, but with a slowdown in the decline to 1.7%. At the same time, the share of SDR in the IMF decreased monthly during the first quarter, accelerating the pace from January 30% to March 33%, then jumped 13.2-fold in April.
To note for comparison that in January-April 2020, the dynamics of gross international reserves was downward: foreign assets in hard currency decreased by 12.5%, the share of SDR in the IMF sank by 56%, which ultimately reduced the gross international reserves by 12.6%. But in y-o-y terms (April 2020 to April 2019), an upward trend was observed: gross international reserves increased by 15.5% due to a similar growth in foreign assets in hard currency, with an increase in the share of SDR in the IMF by 29.3%. And in April 2020 alone, gross international reserves accelerated the decline from 2.9% to 3.5%, with a similar deepening of the decline in foreign assets in hard currency, and a noticeable slowdown in the decline in the share of SDR in the IMF from 32.8% to 0.5%.
To recall, at the end of 2020, Armenia's gross international reserves amounted to $ 2.616 billion, foreign assets in hard currency - $ 2.607 billion, and the share of SDR in the IMF - $ 9 million. In 2020, the gross international reserves decreased by 8.2% (against an increase of 26.1% in 2019), foreign assets in hard currency - by 8.3%, and the share of SDR - by 46%, against an increase of 26.2% and 3,2% respectively in 2019. During 2020, the downward trend in the gross international reserves was observed in January-April, then in May an upward trend emerged, after which the decline resumed, persisting until December. The share of SDR in the IMF also declined in the first four months, having jumped sharply in May, after which the decline resumed, with a monthly moderate drawdown observed in June-November, and a sharp one in December. Foreign assets in hard currency showed an upward trend in May, August and December. The share of bank gold in the gross international reserves of Armenia was zeroed back in December 2003.
