Official Reserve Assets
January 2012
Release date: 7 February 2012
Table 1: Presents data on official reserve assets denominated in Australian dollars.
Table 2: Expresses these figures in US dollar terms.
Changes in the value of official reserve assets reflect purchases and sales (including swaps) of foreign exchange by the Reserve Bank, earnings on foreign securities, transactions with official institutions overseas and valuation effects arising from changes in the foreign currency value of the assets and exchange rates.
| End of | Foreign exchange |
SDRs |
Reserve position in the IMF |
Gold | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | |||||
| Jan | 31,200 | 4,876 | 1,309 | 3,433 | 40,819 |
| Feb | 30,254 | 4,779 | 1,283 | 3,564 | 39,880 |
| Mar | 26,163 | 4,730 | 1,270 | 3,575 | 35,738 |
| Apr | 28,963 | 4,597 | 1,234 | 3,617 | 38,412 |
| May | 30,495 | 4,603 | 1,567 | 3,684 | 40,349 |
| Jun | 31,363 | 4,601 | 1,567 | 3,599 | 41,130 |
| Jul | 30,718 | 4,488 | 1,693 | 3,817 | 40,716 |
| Aug | 33,078 | 4,580 | 1,742 | 4,355 | 43,754 |
| Sep | 33,637 | 4,879 | 2,094 | 4,252 | 44,861 |
| Oct | 34,177 | 4,575 | 1,985 | 4,207 | 44,945 |
| Nov | 33,662 | 4,672 | 2,027 | 4,473 | 44,834 |
| Dec | 35,450 | 4,548 | 2,108 | 3,980 | 46,085 |
| 2012 | |||||
| Jan | 36,172 | 4,350 | 2,039 | 4,209 | 46,771 |
| End of | Foreign exchange |
SDRs |
Reserve position in the IMF |
Gold | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | |||||
| Jan | 30,963 | 4,839 | 1,299 | 3,407 | 40,509 |
| Feb | 30,747 | 4,857 | 1,304 | 3,623 | 40,530 |
| Mar | 27,037 | 4,888 | 1,312 | 3,694 | 36,932 |
| Apr | 31,570 | 5,011 | 1,345 | 3,942 | 41,869 |
| May | 32,657 | 4,930 | 1,678 | 3,945 | 43,210 |
| Jun | 33,681 | 4,941 | 1,683 | 3,865 | 44,170 |
| Jul | 33,649 | 4,916 | 1,854 | 4,181 | 44,600 |
| Aug | 35,363 | 4,896 | 1,862 | 4,656 | 46,778 |
| Sep | 32,900 | 4,772 | 2,048 | 4,159 | 43,879 |
| Oct | 35,917 | 4,808 | 2,086 | 4,421 | 47,233 |
| Nov | 33,733 | 4,682 | 2,031 | 4,483 | 44,928 |
| Dec | 36,003 | 4,619 | 2,141 | 4,042 | 46,804 |
| 2012 | |||||
| Jan | 38,476 | 4,627 | 2,169 | 4,478 | 49,750 |
Notes
- The A$ values shown for SDRs and Reserve position in the IMF are at the IMF basket valuation for the SDR, which is published in terms of US dollars and crossed with the representative rate for the Australian dollar in terms of the US dollar. Gold is valued at the Australian dollar equivalent of the 3 pm price fix in the London gold market on the last business day of the month. The foreign currency value of other overseas assets is based, where applicable, on market quotations; accrued interest is normally tak en into account. Conversion to Australian dollar equivalent normally is based on end month market rates of exchange. Figures in Table 2 have been converted to US dollar values using the end-month AUD/USD exchange rate.
- The sum of gold and foreign exchange may differ from figures reported in the weekly Statement of Liabilities and Assets and the Bank's Annual Report. From 1 July 1996, foreign currency securities sold under repurchase agreements are retained for accounting purposes as foreign currency investments in the Bank's balance sheet, in accordance with standard accounting treatment. For the purpose of reporting foreign exchange reserves in this table, however, securities sold under repurchase agreements are excluded.
- The sum of components may not reconcile with the total amount for Official Reserve Assets due to rounding and the net value of swap transactions with the Federal Reserve as part of the USD Swap Facility.
- Additional data on Australia’s International Reserves will be available on the Reserve Bank’s web site towards the end of the month.
