Thursday, June 10 2021 18:57

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.