ULAN BATOR, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's foreign exchange reserves stood at 4.66 billion U.S. dollars at the end of the third quarter of this year, according to the country's central bank on Thursday.
This marks a 13 percent increase compared to the same period last year, although it reflects a decline of 5.26 percent since the beginning of the year.
The recent decrease in forex reserves can be attributed to various factors, including a 26 percent rise in imports during the first three quarters of this year compared to the same period last year, said Byadran Lkhagvasuren, the governor of the Bank of Mongolia. However, he said, the bank expects the reserves to increase to 4.9 billion dollars by the end of this year.
Mongolia's forex reserves previously dipped to 2.6 billion dollars in August 2022, the lowest level since 2017, primarily due to a deepening current account deficit influenced by both external and internal economic conditions.
The Asian country's forex reserves had exceeded 5 billion dollars in March for the first time before experiencing fluctuations. ■
