Central banker: foreign currency reserves reach record US$5.27B

Santo Domingo.- Centralbanker Hector Valdez Albizu on Wednesday said the Central Bank´s foreign currencyreserves have reached a record US$5.27 billion, noting that the figure wouldcushion any impact from an unexpected flight of funds or adverse balance ofpayments.

He said the amount alsohelps maintain and promote confidence in the economy and on the local currency´svalue, allowing it to deal with possible unwanted fluctuations in the exchangerate and help ensure the economy´s price stability.

Valdez said the accumulatedinternational reserves reached a record US$5.27 billion, with net internationalreserves of US$5.19 billion and US$3.2 million in liquid international reserves,or US$404.3 million, US$544.6 million and US$314.4 million more respectively, comparedwith 2014.

"This equals thelevels of gross international reserves reached during 3.6 months of imports,which exceeds the projection in the monetary program and the recommendations ofthe IMF to maintain a minimum required equivalent to three months of importsreserves," the official said.

“For these reasons, internationalagencies and investors as well as international rating agencies such as Moody’s,Standard & Poor’s and Fitch, grant in a special manner a high evaluation for the levels of International reservesto assign it a country-risk level classification of sovereign debt and thelevels of credit levels of a nation,” Valdez said.