MOSCOW, January 14 (Itar-Tass) — Russia’s international reserves as of January 1, 2013 stood at 537.6 billion U.S. dollars compared to 498.6 billion U.S. dollars a year earlier, the Central Bank said on Monday, January 14.

Russia’s international reserves thus increased by 7.8 percent (or by 39 billion U.S. dollars) in 2012. They include highly liquid foreign assets held by the Central Bank and the Russian government. International reserves consist of foreign currency, special drawing rights, IMF reserve positions and monetary gold.