MOSCOW, April 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's gold and foreign currency reserves hit a record of $205.9 billion on April 1, the chairman of the Central Bank said Wednesday.

Sergei Ignatyev said at a congress of the Association of Russian Banks that the country's gold and foreign currency reserves had grown 1.5-fold in 2005.

He said Russia's economy had developed rapidly in 2005.

The country's chief banker said gross domestic product grew 6.4% and high world oil prices boosted the growth of the federal budget, whose surplus was 7.4% of GDP.

Ignatyev added that Russia had made early payments of its sovereign debt to the International Monetary Fund and the Paris Club of Creditor Nations.

He also said inflation in March stood at 0.8% and 5% in the first three months of 2006 and added that the real effective rate of the ruble had risen 5.9% in the first quarter.

Ignatyev also said the ruble's nominal effect appreciation rate had been 2.2%, as the CBR sought to strength the national currency in its efforts to curb inflation.

He said inflation in the first quarter was lower than in the same period of 2005 (5.3%) but was still high.