Mongolia’s forex reserves drop to $2.8 billion

Mongolia’s foreign-exchange reserves fell to $2.8 billion, down $1.7 billion from the beginning of this year.

The press office of the country’s parliament on Thursday said the significant decrease in forex reserves was largely related to the surge in gasoline and fuel prices.

The Bank of Mongolia said the average price of the gasoline brand AI-95 per litre rose to 4,210 Mongolian tugriks ($1.3) from 2,770 tugriks ($0.87) in February.

According to the country’s Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority, a litre of diesel fuel is priced at $1.28 currently, up from $0.9 in February.

Currently, the landlocked Asian country has no oil refineries and relies heavily on neighbouring Russia for gasoline and diesel fuel. 

(Xinhua/NAN)