Official Reserve AssetsFebruary 2023

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 and valuation effects arising from changes in the foreign currency value of the assets and exchange rates.

Table 1: Official Reserve Assets
(A$ million)
This table presents Australian dollar data on the level and composition of the Reserve Bank's Official Reserve Assets (ORA) holdings as at the end of the relevant month. Total ORA is disaggregated into foreign exchange, Special Drawing Rights, the reserve position in the International Monetary Fund and gold.
End of Foreign
exchange
SDRs Reserve
position in
the IMF
Gold Other reserve assets Total
2021
Dec 51,579 18,929 3,626 5,590 1,092 80,816
2022
Jan 51,208 19,466 3,729 5,916 788 81,106
Feb 50,293 18,662 3,649 5,973 878 79,456
Mar 48,484 17,772 3,501 5,498 1,759 77,014
Apr 48,415 18,019 3,523 5,664 1,878 77,499
May 48,831 18,029 3,528 5,747 1,204 77,339
Jun 50,003 18,580 3,704 6,262 1,392 79,942
Jul 50,855 18,053 3,599 5,942 632 79,080
Aug 52,046 18,150 3,618 5,903 857 80,573
Sep 53,887 19,142 3,747 5,940 858 83,575
Oct 56,251 17,569 3,816 5,163 3,492 86,291
Nov 58,286 17,880 3,791 4,624 2,195 86,777
Dec 56,797 18,176 3,823 4,900 1,748 85,445
2023
Jan 54,212 18,044 3,739 5,967 2,517 84,478
Feb 52,482 19,008 3,832 6,437 3,251 85,011
Table 2: Official Reserve Assets
(US$ million)
This table presents US dollar data on the level and composition of the Reserve Bank's Official Reserve Assets (ORA) holdings as at the end of the relevant month. Total ORA is disaggregated into foreign exchange, Special Drawing Rights, the reserve position in the International Monetary Fund and gold.
End of Foreign
exchange
SDRs Reserve
position in
the IMF
Gold Other reserve assets Total
2021
Dec 37,425 13,735 2,631 4,056 792 58,640
2022
Jan 35,902 13,647 2,614 4,147 553 56,864
Feb 36,120 13,403 2,621 4,290 631 57,065
Mar 36,276 13,297 2,619 4,114 1,316 57,622
Apr 34,607 12,880 2,518 4,049 1,342 55,396
May 35,095 12,958 2,536 4,130 865 55,583
Jun 34,447 12,800 2,552 4,314 959 55,072
Jul 35,634 12,650 2,522 4,163 443 55,412
Aug 35,922 12,527 2,497 4,074 592 55,611
Sep 35,037 12,446 2,436 3,862 558 54,340
Oct 36,113 11,279 2,450 3,315 2,242 55,399
Nov 39,040 11,976 2,539 3,097 1,470 58,123
Dec 38,480 12,314 2,590 3,320 1,185 57,889
2023
Jan 38,149 12,697 2,631 4,199 1,772 59,447
Feb 35,320 12,792 2,579 4,332 2,188 57,212

Notes

  • ‘Other reserve assets’ include the market value of derivatives with non-resident entities, holdings in the Asian Bond Fund, loans to the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT), and holdings in the deposit and loan accounts of the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST).
  • 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 taken 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 and cash lent under repurchase agreements as well as gold lent under gold loan transactions are retained for accounting purposes as foreign currency investments in the Bank's balance sheet, along with cash received under repurchase agreements, in accordance with standard accounting treatment. For the purpose of reporting foreign exchange reserves in this table, however, securities sold and cash lent under repurchase agreements are excluded along with gold lent under gold loan transactions. Foreign currency securities received under repurchase agreements are excluded from both the RBA's balance sheet and from official reserve assets. Holdings in the Asian Bond Fund and the market value of derivatives with non-resident entities are included in Other Reserve Assets for the purposes of reporting official reserve assets but are included under Gold and Foreign Exchange for reporting on RBA's balance sheet.
  • The above data are based on information available at the time of publication and are subject to revision. The sum of components may not reconcile with the total amount for Official Reserve Assets due to rounding.
  • Additional data on Australia's Foreign Exchange Transactions and Holdings of Official Reserve Assets will be available on the Reserve Bank's website on the third Thursday of the month and data on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity will be available on the last business day of the month.
  • For information on changes to the RBA's methodology for compiling Australia's foreign reserve holdings from January 2015, please see ‘Reporting Australia's Foreign Reserve Holdings’.