Official praises floating exchange rate as response to changes in terms of foreign trade

January 30, BPN. The foreign currency market remained stable in 2022 due to favorable terms of foreign trade and the floating exchange rate, Siarhiej Kalečyc, first deputy chair of the National Bank, said last week at an expanded meeting of the central bank’s board.

The record foreign trade surplus in 2022 helped businesses earn $2.7 billion in net revenue, while a stable foreign currency market prevented a larger-than-expected drop in foreign exchange reserves, he added.

Belarus’ gold and foreign exchange reserves fell by $495.5 million in 2022 to $7.9 billion on January 1. The 2023 monetary and credit policy guidelines project reserves depletion to at least $6 billion by the end of the year.

Foreign currency purchases by the National Bank on the domestic market, the finance ministry’s foreign cash receipts, as well as the rescheduling of debt payments to Russia, helped maintain foreign exchange reserves, Kalečyc said.

Belarus also paid a part of its external public debt in rubels, he added.

Rubel deposits grew by 1.3 billion rubels, a 25 percent increase, while foreign currency deposits rose by some $74 million in the nine last months of 2022 after a drop in the first quarter, he added.