MOSCOW, November 29. /TASS/. High levels of Russian Central Bank’s international reserves and the flexible exchange-rate regime will help the national economy navigate external shocks, the World Bank said in its Russian Economic Report released on Wednesday.
"As of September 1, 2017, international reserves reached $424.8 billion up from $377.7 billion in the end of 2016. The import cover stays at a comfortable level, although slightly lower, compared to end 2016 (16.3 months of goods and services in the end of September 2017, compared to 17 months of goods and services in the end of 2016). High levels of international reserves and the flexible exchange-rate regime continue to help the economy navigate external shocks," the report said.
In the first three quarters of 2017, the Central Bank’s international reserves increased by $14.2 bln, compared to a marginal decrease of $1.1 bln in the same period last year.
"The increase was mostly due to currency purchases conducted by the Central Bank on behalf of the Ministry of Finance from February 2017. The Central Bank refrained from intervening on its own, in line with its flexible exchange-rate regime," the World Bank said.