Foreign exchange reserves of the Bank of Russia totaled USD148.1bn in the week ending August 19. This is a 0.5 percent decline from the previous week. The Central Bank has reported a decrease in its gold and currency reserves for the first time since July 22. Over the prior three weeks they had advanced USD6.9bn.

      The reason for the recent cut is early repayment of debt to Paris Club creditors. The reserves could be cut more in the future, since on August 22, Russia spent over USD2bn on state debt servicing.