Belarus' gold and foreign exchange reserves exceeded $7 billion as of 1 May 2018, BelTA learned from the Information and PR Department of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB).

According to the preliminary data, Belarus' gold and foreign exchange reserves, if calculated in accordance with methods of the International Monetary Fund, totaled $7.038 billion (in equivalent) as of 1 May 2018. In April 2018, the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves went up by $43.5 million (or 0.6%) after the decrease of $98.8 million (or 1.4%) in March.

The increase in the gold and foreign exchange reserves in April was due to the revenues from the purchase of foreign currency by the National Bank at the Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange, the sales of bonds denominated in foreign exchange by the National Bank and the Finance Ministry in the domestic market, receipts to the budget, including export duties on oil and oil products.

The external and internal obligations in foreign currency were fulfilled by the government and the National Bank in the amount of about $332 million.

According to the country's main monetary guidelines for 2018, the volume of international reserve assets, taking into account the repayment of domestic and foreign commitments in foreign currency is projected to reach at least $6 billion on 1 January 2019.