Belarus' international reserves increased by $628.5 million, or 18.9 percent, to $3,955.2 million in March, said the National Statistics Committee.
The calculations were reportedly made according to the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard.
The reserves went up by $894.1 million, or 29.2 percent, since January 1.
“Loans taken in outside markets and other flows,” which were included into the reserves this year, amounted to $1.91 billion, the Committee said.
Belarus obtained $788 million in the first tranche of the International Monetary Fund’s loan in January, $625 million from the sale of a stake in the Beltranshaz gas transport company to Russia’s Gazprom in February and a $500-million loan from Russia in March.
The reserves decreased by a total of $1,121.1 million, or 26.8 percent, in 2008, rising by $442 million, or 10.6 percent, year-on-year in the first six months.
The country's reserves increased threefold to a record high of $4,182 million at the end of 2007, as Russia gave a $1.5-billion loan to Belarus.
The government has set itself the task of increasing the international reserves to $10 billion by 2010.
BelaPAN
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