Belarus's gold and foreign exchange reserves according to IMF standards decreased by 13.7% in January

February 7, Minsk /BELTA/. The volume of international reserve assets of Belarus in national definition as of February 1 amounted to $5579.5 million. Over the past month, it decreased by $575.8 million, or by 9.4%. This was reported to BELTA by the information department of the National Bank of Belarus, citing preliminary data. International reserve assets in the IMF's Special Data Dissemination Standard definition decreased by $687.7 million, or by 13.7%, over the same period, and as of February 1, 2011, amounted to $4343 million. As explained by the National Bank, the decrease in gold and foreign exchange reserves is a characteristic phenomenon for January and is observed throughout the entire period of calculation of these indicators. The main reasons for the decrease in reserves, according to the National Bank, are seasonal factors - the execution of foreign currency payments for obligations of the past year, as well as the traditional decline in foreign currency earnings coming into the country against the backdrop of high demand for foreign currency for energy payments. In January 2011, the volume of reserves was further negatively affected by the fall in precious metal prices on world markets, as well as the restoration of banks' foreign currency positions, which were reduced in November-December 2010 due to high public demand for foreign currency. In turn, the net demand of the population for foreign currency in January, as expected, significantly decreased and amounted to about $57 million compared to $649 million in December 2010. The existing level of reserves is sufficient to address the priority task of monetary policy to maintain the stable exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble within the established corridor of values. Nevertheless, in order to strengthen macroeconomic and financial stability, the National Bank, together with the Government of Belarus, is currently undertaking a whole set of additional measures aimed at increasing the level of gold and foreign exchange reserves. In accordance with the Main Directions of Monetary Policy of the Republic of Belarus for 2011, the growth of international reserve assets in the current year will be at least $1.2 billion. The main factors for such growth should be the attraction of net foreign direct investment in the amount of $6.4-6.5 billion, as well as the equalization of the situation in foreign trade in goods and services by increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of the national economy. -0-