DOHA: Qatar Central Bank's (QCB) international reserves and foreign currency liquidity increased by 4.68 percent in April to reach QR248.202bn, compared to QR237.095bn in the same month of 2023.
Data released by the QCB on Tuesday showed that the bank's official reserves rose by QR10.377bn at the end of April compared to the end of April 2023, to reach QR189.262bn. This was driven by an increase in the QCB's holdings of foreign bonds and treasury bills from QR1.887bn to QR138.276bn in April 2024.
The official reserves consist of major components, including foreign bonds and treasury bills, cash balances with foreign banks, gold holdings, special drawing rights (SDR) deposits, and Qatar's share in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In addition to official reserves, there are other liquid assets (foreign currency deposits), which together constitute what is known as total international reserves.
Gold holdings increased by QR6.646bn at the end of April compared to April 2023 to reach QR28.024bn.Balances with foreign banks also rose by QR2.007bn to QR17.804bn at the end of April this year, compared to April 2023.On the other hand, the balance of SDR deposits from Qatar's share in the IMF decreased by QR163mn at the end of April compared to April 2023, to reach QR5.157bn.
