A statement published by the central bank on Friday indicated that the gross reserves of the Bank of Mauritius (BoM) hit a record level of Rs 108.4 billion at the end of February, boosting the Gross Official International Reserves of the country to Rs 110.2 billion.
The Gross Reserves of the BoM rose from Rs 102.7 billion in January to Rs 108.4 billion last month, in one of the strongest increases recorded so far.
According to the data released by the Central Bank, the value of the gold reserve increased to Rs 5.04 billion in February, compared to Rs 4.8 billion in January. It is worth noting that gold reserves stood at Rs 6.2 billion in February, 2013.
However, the special drawing rights (SDR) bucket marginally declined to Rs 4.64 billion in February 2014 against Rs 4.65 in January 2014. The SDR Basket comprises the following currencies: JPY, EUR, GBP and USD.
Incidentally, it was reserves registered under the item ‘Others’ that recorded the maximum increase, from Rs 93.3 billion in January to Rs 98.8 billion in February.
In addition, another statement released by the BoM concerning the rupee’s movements against the currencies of its important trading partners as captured by the Mauritius Exchange Rate Index (MERI), indicates that the rupee’s depreciation is likely to be arrested soon.
According to central bank data, the MUR has only marginally depreciated in February 2014, after four months of escalating depreciation. The MERI, which reflects the currency distribution of merchandise trade, rose from 94.033 in January 2014 to 94.101 in February 2014 after a downturn in December 2013, when it stood at 94.263.
It may be noted that an increase in the index indicates a depreciation of the rupee while a decrease in the index signals an appreciation.
Finally, another indicator, the MERI2 – which is based on the currency distribution of merchandise trade and tourism earnings – has also moved in the same direction, increasing from 93.748 in January 2014 to 93.819 in February 2014.
Image (Bullion Street): The Gross Reserves of the BoM rose from Rs 102.7 billion in January to Rs 108.4 billion last month, in one of the strongest increases recorded so far.
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