6 May, Minsk /BELTA correspondent/. According to preliminary data, the international reserve assets of the Republic of Belarus, as defined by the IMF standard, increased by $32.1 million, or 0.9%, in April 2011, reaching $3793.5 million in equivalent terms as of May 1, 2011. This was reported to BELTA by the Information Department of the National Bank of Belarus. In the national definition, the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves increased by $86.3 million, reaching $5340 million in equivalent terms as of May 1, 2011. The National Bank explained that the increase in gold and foreign exchange reserves was mainly due to the rise in precious metal prices and the dynamics of foreign currency exchange rates on international markets. At the same time, in April of the current year, the National Bank and the Government of Belarus fully met their external and domestic obligations in foreign currency. The National Bank recalled that the main task set by the President of Belarus for the National Bank and the Government is to prevent further decline of state gold and foreign exchange reserves and to increase them by the end of 2011 to a level corresponding to 3-month average imports (equivalent to $9-10 billion), which will ensure the necessary level of foreign economic security for the country.-0-

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