Belarus sees gold, forex reserves fall 4% in Sept to $14.6 bln amid volatile gold prices

MINSK. Oct 5 (Interfax) - Belarus had gold and foreign exchange reserves of $14.63 billion as of October 1, 2026, compared to $14.42 billion at the beginning of the year, the National Bank of Belarus said.

The country's gold and foreign exchange reserves therefore increased by $210 million or 1.6% in January-September.

The reserves fell 4% or $609 million in September after rising 7.4% or $1.05 billion in August.

The National Bank said reserves fluctuated in during August and September due to volatile gold prices in international financial markets. Gold accounts for nearly 55% of Belarus's foreign exchange and gold reserves.

The value of monetary gold within the reserves stood at $7.24 billion at the beginning of October, falling 3.1% since the start of the year. Gold in the reserves fell $675 million or 8.5% in September after rising 13.3% in August.

Foreign exchange reserves have grown 8.1% since the start of the year to $5.99 billion. They rose 1.3% in September and 2.9% in August.

Special Drawing Rights account for $1.4 billion of the reserves.

In 2025, Belarusian gold and foreign exchange reserves increased 60% after growing 9.8% in 2024, declining 2.5% in 2023 and falling 5.9% in 2022.

According to the National Bank's target forecast, the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves at the end of 2026 should be at least $9.2 billion, taking into account upcoming payments on external public debt, and at least $12.8 billion at the end of 2027.