ArmInfo. Armenia's gross international reserves (GIR) in February 2025 decreased by 0.3% per annum or $9.4 million, amounting to $3.372 billion, which was more pronounced in the same period of 2024 - a decline of 4.6% or $164 million - to $3.381 billion. In February of this year alone, GIR increased by 0.8% (or $27.3 million), but in January-February the decline was 8.5% (or $313 million).
The ongoing downward dynamics continue to distance GIR from the historical maximum of $4.2 billion recorded in August 2023. This is evidenced by data from the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia.
In particular, the annual decline in GMR came from a reduction in the share of SDR in the IMF by 61% to $5.9 million with a slight increase in external assets in freely convertible currency by 0.01% to $3.366 billion, while in the same period of 2024 both indicators were in decline - 34% and 4.4%, respectively. Recall that the record level of external assets in freely convertible currency was reached in August 2023 - $4.216 billion, and the historical maximum of the share of SDR in the IMF was recorded in August 2021 - $178.2 million.
In February alone, the growth of the GMR was due to an improvement in the trend of external assets in hard currency from a 10.4% decline to a 2% growth in decline, with a reversal of the trend of the share of SDR in the IMF in the opposite direction - from a 22-fold growth to an 87% decline.
In January-February of this year, the decline in the GMR was due to a similar reduction in external assets in hard currency by 8.6% with a 3-fold increase in the share of SDR in the IMF, which was observed in the same period a year ago, when a 6.5% decline in the former and a 30-fold jump in the latter reduced the GMR by 6.1%.
Armenia's gross international reserves (GIR) increased by 2.3% or $82.4 million in 2024, exceeding $3.684 billion, while in 2023 a decline of 12.4% or $509.9 million was recorded - to $3.602 billion. In particular, external assets in hard currency increased by 2.2% to $3.682 billion, and the share of SDR in the IMF jumped 4 times to $2 million, while in 2023 there was a decline in both the former by 12.3% and the latter by 92%. The share of bank gold in Armenia's GIR was reset to zero back in December 2003.
In mid-December 2024, the IMF Executive Board, following the 4th SBA review, approved a stand-by facility for Armenia in the amount of SDR 18.4 million (about $24.12 million), bringing the total available amount to SDR 92 million (about $120.59 million). The International Monetary Fund approved this three- year precautionary Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Armenia in the amount of SDR 128.8 million on December 13, 2022, immediately opening access to SDR 18.4 million, with the remaining amount to be made available after final reviews of six semi-annual periods.
