Russia continues to boost forex reserves

The country’s holdings are approaching $600 billion, according to the central bank

Russian foreign exchange reserves surged by $3.1 billion last week, the Bank of Russia revealed on Thursday.

The holdings amounted to $597.7 billion, having increased by 0.5% during the week ending January 27, driven by a positive revaluation of currencies, the central bank reported in its regular update. As of January 20, Russia’s forex reserves totaled $594.6 billion.

Russia’s international reserves, which are highly liquid foreign assets held by the Bank of Russia and the country’s government, consist of monetary gold, Special Drawing Rights (SDR) with the IMF, and foreign currency held within the country.

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Roughly half of the holdings were frozen by Western central banks in early March as part of anti-Russia sanctions over the Ukraine conflict. In addition to freezing the funds, Western countries banned operations related to their management.

The remaining holdings consist of gold and foreign currency held within the country, as well as Chinese yuan assets. Prior to the conflict, Russia’s forex reserves had reached a historical high of $643.2 billion.

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