DOHA: The international reserves and foreign currency liquidity of Qatar Central Bank (QCB) increased by 3.7 percent in January to reach QR255.166 billion, compared to QR246.047 billion in the same month last year.
Qatar Central Bank revealed, in new data, that its official reserves increased by the end of last January, compared to what they were at the end of the same month in 2024, by about QR8.942 billion, to reach QR196.097 billion, despite the decline in the Central Bank’s balances of foreign bonds and treasury bills by about QR7.551 billion, to the level of QR128.863 billion last January.
Official reserves consist of the following main components: foreign treasury bonds and bills, cash balances in foreign banks, gold holdings, special drawing rights deposits, and Qatar’s share in the International Monetary Fund.
In addition to official reserves, other liquid assets (foreign currency deposits) are added, so that the two together constitute what is known as total international reserves.
The gold stock increased by the end of last January by about QR12.582 billion, compared to January 2024, to QR36.651 billion.
Balances in foreign banks also increased by about QR4.059 billion, to QR25.526 billion by the end of last January, compared to January 2024.
On the other hand, the balance of Special Drawing Rights deposits from the State of Qatar’s share in the International Monetary Fund decreased by the end of last January by QR150 million, compared to January 2024, to reach QR5.054 billion.