TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 9. The official reserve assets of Uzbekistan amounted to $33.72 billion as of August 1, having slightly decreased by $71.8 million in July, Trend reports.
This is the fourth month in a row that reserves have been shrinking; since the beginning of this year, they have decreased by $2.12 billion.
The value of the gold reserve decreased by $67.1 million, reaching $23.02 billion. The physical volume of the precious metal increased by 0.3 million troy ounces (9.3 tons) and amounted to 11.8 million troy ounces (approximately 367 tons). This may indicate a possible export activity of Uzbekistan in July. In total, over seven months, the gold reserves decreased by almost 28 tons.
However, the sale of gold did not lead to a proportional increase in foreign exchange reserves. Foreign currency reserves decreased by $14.9 million and amounted to $9.56 billion. This figure has become an anti-record for the entire period of statistics since 2013, a similar record was set last month. Since the beginning of this year, foreign exchange reserves have decreased by $2.08 billion.
In July, the cost of this precious metal rose from 1931.9 to 1971.9 dollars per troy ounce.