BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 9
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
The value of Kazakhstan’s international reserves decreased by $1.1 billion to $33.54 billion over three months of 2021, Deputy Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan Aliya Moldabekova said, Trend reports citing the Bank.
In her words, the main reason for the decline was the decrease in global gold price by 4.5 percent month-on-month, from $1,765 to $1,685 per ounce. The gold portfolio in reserves decreased by $815 million to $21.4 billion.
Free convertible currency assets decreased by $317 million. Moldabekova explained that the main reasons for the reduction were the drop in the volume of second-tier banks’ funds placed within the National Bank. The reason was the redemption of Eurobonds of one of the banks, as well as the payment of external debt in the amount of $72 million.
The price of gold is showing high volatility, she noted. Thus, on March 4, quotes on gold fell below $1,700 per ounce for the first time since June 2020.
But since the beginning of April, the price of gold has risen to $1,753, or by 4 percent. In order to reduce the volatility of reserves and increase their liquidity, the National Bank continues to use protective strategies using the purchase/sale of options on the gold market, including selling gold.
