Russia's gold and currency reserves stood at $546.1bn as of October 3, having dropped $16.7bn, or more than 3 percent, from the previous showing. The reserves have fallen $51.4bn, or 9.4 percent, over the past eight weeks. Such a sharp decrease in reserves, the largest since the publication of such official information began, can be attributed to the Central Bank's active interventions to stabilize Russia's stock and currency markets. Furthermore, the euro's noticeable fall against the dollar on international exchanges and a considerable capital outflow from Russia may have affected the reserves as well. As a result, Russia's reserves have returned to the level they reached in late May, some four and a half months ago. |
