Tajikistan’s gold-and-currency reserves are now equivalent to more than five months 5.6 months of import cover, while under international standards the minimum acceptable level of international reserves should be able to cover 3 months of projected imports, the head of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), Jamshed Nourmahmadzoda, told reporters in Dushanbe on July 25.
“Our international reserves have increased from three months of import cover last year to more than five months of import cover this year,” Tajik central bank head noted.
In recent years, the National bank of Tajikistan has refrained from disclosing the volume of the country’s gold-and currency reserves.
Meanwhile, an average monthly volume of Tajikistan’s imports increased from some 215 U.S dollars last year to more than 250 U.S. dollars in the first half-year of 2018.
Proceedings from these figures one can suppose that Tajikistan’s gold-and-currency reserves now amount to some 1.25 billion U.S. dollars.
Meanwhile, a report by the World Bank, Tajikistan: Heightened Vulnerabilities, Despite Sustained Growth, notes that international reserves held by the National Bank of Tajikistan rose sharply in the first nine months of 2017 to 5.6 months of import cover, but this was largely the result of one-off effects and not indicative of a sustained improvement in economic fundamentals. The surge in reserves came primarily at the cost of debt accumulation, reflecting a US$500 million Eurobond issuance in September.
According to the report, reserves were also supplemented by the acquisition of monetary gold through domestic currency issuances and foreign exchange purchases facilitated by administrative measures. In the medium-term, reserve levels are reportedly expected to gradually moderate as imports recover and construction of the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP) accelerates.
