MOSCOW, October 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's international reserves comprising gold, foreign currencies and a range of other assets declined 3.2% in January-September 2009 to $413.45 billion, the Central Bank said on Tuesday.
As of January 1, 2009, Russia's international reserves stood at $427.08 billion.
International reserves are highly liquid financial assets managed by the Central Bank of Russia. Apart from foreign currency and gold, Russia's international reserves are also composed of special drawing rights (SDRs), a reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other assets.
The global financial crisis forced Russia, which receives a large part of its revenues from oil exports, to gradually devalue the ruble amid capital flight and a fall in global oil prices, which declined from their peak of $147 per barrel in July 2008 to around $40 per barrel in early 2009.
Global oil prices have since climbed back to around $70 and the ruble has stabilized at around 30 to the dollar.
