ArmInfo.Armenia's gross international reserves increased in January- May 2021 by 15% or by $ 393 million, amounting to $ 3.009 billion, as evidenced by the data of the Central Bank of Armenia. Of these, the lion's share - $ 2.973 billion - falls on foreign assets in hard currency, and the SDR share in the IMF amounted to $ 35.7 million. According to the regulator's report, in January-May of this year foreign assets in hard currency increased by 14.1%, and the share of SDR in the IMF grew 4-fold.
The annual dynamics (May 2021 against May 2020) also turned out to be upward: gross international reserves increased by 11.3% or by $ 305 million, with an increase in foreign assets in hard currency by 13.1% and a decline in the share of SDR in the IMF by 52%.
At the same time, in May alone, gross international reserves reached 0.6% growth from the April 0.6% decline. A similar change in dynamics was observed in foreign assets in hard currency - from the April 1.8% decline to the May 0.7% growth. At the same time, the share of SDR in the IMF after the April jump 13.2-fold decreased by 8.3% in May.
To note for comparison that in January-May 2020, the dynamics of gross international reserves was downward: foreign assets in hard currency decreased by 7.5%, the share of SDR in the IMF jumped 12- fold, which ultimately reduced gross international reserves by 5.1%. But on an annualized basis (May 2020 to May 2019), there was an upward trend: gross international reserves increased by 27.1% due to the growth of foreign assets in hard currency by 25.8%, while the share of SDR in the IMF doubled. And in May 2020 alone, gross international reserves came out of a 3.5% decline by 8.5% growth, with a similar reversal of the trend of foreign assets in hard currency from a 3.5% decline to 5.7% growth, and a jump in the share of SDR in the IMF 27-fold (after the April 0.5% decline).
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 gross international reserves dropped by 8.2% (versus 26.1% growth in 2019), foreign assets in hard currency - by 8.3%, and the share of SDR - by 46%, against growth by 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.
