ArmInfo.By 2023, Armenia's gross international reserves (GIR) reached a historical maximum - $4.112 billion, having increased by 27.3% or $881.8 million over 2022 (against 23.5% growth in 2021), thereby exceeding the September record level of $3.7 billion. The quarterly growth rate of gross international reserves also accelerated markedly to 10% in Q4 from 8.4% in Q3. This is evidenced by the data of the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia.
In particular, the growth of gross international reserves in 2022 was due to the 28.5% increase in foreign currency foreign assets up to 4.108 billion dollars, with a decline in the share of SDR in the IMF by 81.3% to $6.2 million, while a year earlier there was an increase in both of them: GIR-22.7% and the share of SDR in the IMF 3.7-fold. It is worth noting that external assets in hard currency also reached an all-time high, and the share of SDRs in the IMF even exceeded the record level of August 2021of $178.2 million.
Similarly, the quarterly increase in gross international reserves is associated with a 10.4% increase in foreign assets denominated in foreign currencies, with a decrease in the share of SDRs in the IMF by 67.4%, which was also observed in Q3, when the growth of the GIR by 8.7% was accompanied by a decline in the share of SDR in the IMF by 33.1%.
In December 2022 alone, GIR increased by 17% or by $593.7 million, due to the growth of foreign assets in hard currency by 17.5% or by $613.2 million, with a decline in the share of SDR in the IMF by 73.5%, while in the previous month (November) GIR and foreign assets in hard currency were in decline by 3.2- 3.3% with an increase in the share of SDR in the IMF by 21.7%. A year earlier, in December 2021, the dynamics were similar to the current ones, but the pace was more modest: the growth of GIR by 6.7% was due to the growth of external assets in hard currency by 7.8%, while the share of SDR in the IMF fell by 45.1%.
During the 12 months of 2022, the growth of GIR and foreign assets in hard currency has been outlined since April, reaching a historical maximum in June, with a further monthly setting of a new record level in July-September, after which a decrease began in October-November, but in December both indicators set new all-time high. And the share of SDR in the IMF showed growth in March (by 65.3%) and October- November (by 23%) alone.
It should be noted that in early May 2022, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decided to provide Armenia with 25.716 million SDRs (about $35 million) under the Stand-By Agreement (SBA), as a result of which the total amount of payments under the program will be 308.8 million SDRs. (about $415 million). The IMF announcement indicated that the decision was taken by the Fund's Executive Board without convening formal discussions, completing the review of the sixth and final SBA reviews, thereby allowing the authorities to raise the abovementioned amount. The same report noted that the performance of the three-year standby agreement (SBA) remained strong despite a number of internal and external shocks. It should be noted that in 2021, Armenia's gross international reserves increased by 23% or by $599.4 million (against an 8.2% decline in 2020 and a pre-Covid 26.1% growth in 2019), reaching $3.230 billion. In he composition of Armenia's gross international reserves, external assets in hard currency increased by 22.1% to $3.197 billion, and the share of SDR in the IMF increased 3.7-fold to $32.8 million, while in 2020 external assets in hard currency were at the decline of 8.3% , and the share of SDR in the IMF showed a relatively modest increase of 45.5%, against the pre- Covid growth in 2019 of the first one by 26.2% and the second one by 3.2%. The share of banking gold in Armenia's gross international reserves was set to zero in December 2003.
