Français	Contact Us	Help	Search	Canada site

Home	What's New	Site Map	Glossary	HotLinks

About Us	FAQ	Media Room	Publications	Legislation

Release at 8:15 a.m. EDT
Ottawa, May 3, 2001
2001-046

Official International Reserves

- Official International Reserves 2001 -

The Department of Finance announced today that Canada's official international reserves decreased by an amount equivalent to US$306 million during April to US$33,207 million.

Details on the level and composition of Canada's reserves as of April 30, 2001, as well as the major factors underlying the change in reserves, are provided below. All figures are in millions of US dollars unless otherwise noted.


Foreign Currency Reserves
Securities		25,096
Deposits		4,862
Gold¹		306
Special drawing rights (SDRs)		575
Reserve position in the IMF		2,368
Total:	April 30, 2001	33,207
	March 31, 2001	33,513
Net change		-306
Details on Deposits
Other central banks/Bank for International Settlements		440
Banks headquartered in Canada		603
Of which: located abroad		301
Banks headquartered abroad		3,819
Of which: located in Canada		401	____
Total		4,862
Details of Net Change
Foreign currency debt²		-149
Gains and losses on gold sales		0
Net investment gains and losses
Return on investments³		-81
Foreign currency debt charges		-92
Revaluation effects		109
Net government operations⁴		-93
Official intervention		0
Other transactions		0
Net change		-306
Currency Composition of Deposits and Securities
US dollars		21,940
Euro		7,105
Yen		908
Other		5
Total		29,958



Predetermined Short-Term Drains on Foreign Currency Reserves (Nominal Value)
		0-1 month	1-3 months	3-12 months	Total
Foreign currency securities⁵	Principal	-2,087	-2,190	-2,523	-6,800
Foreign currency securities⁵	Interest	-163	-310	-949	-1,422
Aggregate short forward positions in foreign currencies vis-à-vis Canadian dollar		-1,196	-290	0	-1,486
Aggregate long forward positions in foreign currencies vis-à-vis Canadian dollar		0	0	0	0
Total net drains		-3,446	-2,790	-3,472	-9,708

Additional Items (Nominal Value)
Undrawn, unconditional credit lines with banks headquartered outside Canada			6,000
Securities lent under repurchase agreements⁶			-1,668
Securities held under repurchase agreements⁷			103
Financial derivatives assets (net, marked to market)
Forwards			-451
Swaps			12
Notes:
There were no sales of gold in April. On April 30, gold holdings stood at 1.2 million ounces. The valuation is based on the April 30, 2001, London p.m. fix of US$263.15 per ounce. During April Canada Bills decreased by US$301 million to a level of outstanding bills of $4,284 million and Canada Notes decreased by US$70 million to a level of outstanding notes of $968 million. Cross-currency swaps of domestic obligations raised US$222 million equivalent. "Return on investments" comprises US$165 million of interest earned on investments and a US$246-million decrease in the market value of securities resulting from changes in interest rates. "Net government operations" are the net purchases of foreign currency for government foreign exchange requirements and for additions to reserves. "Foreign currency securities" include maturities of foreign currency debt, cross-currency swap payments and an estimate of interest payments on foreign currency liabilities. Securities lent under repurchase agreements are included in total reserves. Collateral provided in securities lending transactions is not included in total reserves. Cash invested under repurchase agreements is included in total reserves. Collateral provided in securities lending transactions is not included in total reserves.

Future Release Dates

The next release is June 5, 2001 (covering the period May 2001).

A list of upcoming release dates is posted on the Department of Finance Web site located at: www.fin.gc.ca/invest_x/releaseDates_e.asp

___________________
For further information:

Nigel Stephens
Financial Markets Division
(613) 943-1944

Jean-Michel Catta
Public Affairs and Operations Division
(613) 996-8080

If you would like to receive automatic e-mail notification of all news releases, please visit the Department of Finance Canada Web site at http://www.fin.gc.ca/scripts/register_e.asp

Official International Reserves (10-Year Synopsis)


	US dollars	Other currencies	Gold	SDRs	IMF position	Total

	(millions of US dollars)
April 30, 2001	21,940	8,018	306	575	2,368	33,207
March 31, 2001	22,407	7,830	300	573	2,403	33,513
February 28, 2001	21,942	7,608	310	587	2,464	32,911
January 31, 2001	21,709	7,663	313	572	2,581	32,838
December 31, 2000	21,692	7,327	323	574	2,508	32,424
November 30, 2000	21,324	6,613	319	565	2,256	31,077
October 31, 2000	21,230	6,163	313	546	2,292	30,544
September 30, 2000	21,163	6,331	324	554	2,325	30,697
August 31, 2000	21,197	6,159	328	557	2,337	30,578
July 31, 2000	20,645	6,173	344	543	2,517	30,222
June 30, 2000	20,326	6,277	358	553	2,646	30,160
May 31, 2000	19,862	6,100	364	545	2,612	29,483
April 30, 2000	21,066	5,839	387	526	2,616	30,434

Dec. 31, 1999	18,838	5,594	524	526	3,164	28,646
Dec. 31, 1998	15,907	4,004	122	1,097	2,297	23,427
Dec. 31, 1997	14,630	492	146	1,126	1,575	17,969
Dec. 31, 1996	17,521	507	155	1,168	1,227	20,578
Dec. 31, 1995	12,127	502	178	1,177	1,243	15,227
Dec. 31, 1994	9,693	526	199	1,148	910	12,475
Dec. 31, 1993	9,950	521	292	1,064	949	12,776
Dec. 31, 1992	7,864	1,518	478	1,039	1,010	11,909
Dec. 31, 1991	9,440	4,639	649	1,582	592	16,901
Dec. 31, 1990	11,476	4,326	735	1,526	517	18,581
Dec. 31, 1989	11,489	2,661	741	1,377	528	16,796



		Last Updated: 2004-02-03			Important Notices