ArmInfo.Armenia's gross international reserves (GIR) decreased by 12.3% or $504.1 million in 2023 to $3.608 billion, while in 2022 it increased by 27.3% or $881.8 million to $4.112 billion dollars. GIR's quarterly dynamics also worsened - up to a 13.4% decline in Q4 from 6.6% growth in Q3, according to the data from the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia.
In particular, GIR's decline for 2023 was due to a reduction in external assets in hard currency by 12.2% to $3.607 billion, with a decline in the share of SDR in the IMF by 92% to $0.5 million, while in 2022 there was an increase in external assets in hard currency by 28.5% and a decline in the share of SDR in the IMF by 81.3%. It is appropriate to note that, both GIR and external assets in hard currency reached a new record level in 2023 August - $4.220 billion and $4.216 billion, respectively, and the historical maximum for the SDR share in the IMF was recorded two years earlier - $178.2 million in August 2021.
Similarly, the quarterly decline in GIR came from a reduction in external assets in hard currency by 13.4%, with a decline in the share of SDR in the IMF by 13%, while in Q3 the growth of the external assets in hard currency by 6.8% was accompanied by a decline in the share of SDR in the IMF by 93.5 %. Meanwhile, a year earlier, in Q4 2022, GIR growth accelerated from 8.4% to 10%, as a result of a similar advance in the growth of external assets in hard currency from 8.7% to 10.4%, with an accelerating decline in the SDR share in the IMF from 33.1% to 67.4%.
During the 12 months of 2023, a decline in GIR and external assets in hard currency was observed in January-February and April, after which GIR and external assets in hard currency began to grow monthly, reaching a new record level in August, but since September there has been a monthly downward movement. And the share of SDR in the IMF showed growth in January (5-fold), July (5-fold) and October (85-fold).
By the end of 2022, Armenia's gross international reserves (GIR) reached a record level of $4.112 billion, which was then slightly exceeded in 2023 in July and much more noticeably in August. In 2022, GIR increased by 27.3% or $881.8 million (versus 23.5% growth in 2021). In their structure, external assets in hard currency also reached a record level of $4.108 billion, accelerating in growth from 22.7% to 28.5%, which then reached a new historical maximum in August 2023. At the same time, the share of SDR in the IMF dropped to $6.2 million, with a reversal of the annual dynamics from an increase of 3.7 times towards a decline of 81.3%, thereby moving further away from the record level of August 2021 of $178.2 million. The share of bank gold in the SMR of Armenia reset back in December 2003.
On December 12, 2022, the IMF Council approved a three-year Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) agreement for Armenia in the amount of SDR 128.8 million (about $171.1 million) in order to maintain macroeconomic stability, hedge against negative risks and support the structural reform program.
From this moment on, an amount equivalent to 18.4 million SDR (about $24.4 million) immediately became available to Armenia. On June 12, 2023, the IMF Board completed its review of the first review under the SBA standby agreement with Armenia, which resulted in access to SDR 18.4 million (about $24.5 million), bringing the total access amount to SDR 36.8 million (about $49 million). Later, on November 7, 2023, the IMF Board completed its review of the second review under the SBA standby agreement with Armenia. Based on the results of this audit, the IMF Council, at a meeting on December 11, 2023, decided to open Armenia's access to 18.4 million SDR (about $24.4 million), resulting in the total amount of access to be 55.2 million SDR (about $73.3 million).
