Meanwhile, the fraction of international reserves held in euros grew from 18 to 24 , and the dollar s share dropped from 71 to 66 .

Today, currencies other than the dollar account for 40 of identified international reserves.

Managing a floating rate has also allowed Latin American countries to accumulate a significant level of international reserves.

Reserves

Developing countries main defense against world financial instability has been to accumulate international reserves.

(l) Other reserves

(j) Operating reserves

At today s prices, these reserves could be worth more than 7 trillion, according to international energy companies factoring in the accompanying natural gas, 10 trillion would probably be a conservative figure.

Back then, international monetary diplomacy focused on creating a new form of international reserves, what became the International Monetary Fund s Special Drawing Rights.

But hoarding international reserves, mostly in the form of low yielding short term US Treasury securities, is expensive and inefficient.

However, in later periods the objective was to avoid real exchange rate appreciation, and, at the same time, to accumulate international reserves and strengthen credibility.

Covering this drop in reserves more than half of gas reserves and a fifth of oil reserves have been consumed with imports implies an annual cost of more than 300 billion.

Africa s natural gas reserves amount to about 8 of global reserves.

The recent move by the 28 member International Energy Agency to release oil from strategic reserves proves this point.

Table 6 Comparison of reserves and staff liabilities

Other reserves comprise the following

(g) Transfers to reserves

Even if an SDR Substitution Account is established, it is unlikely that the dollar s share in international reserves would fall to an insignificant level.

The activities on all reserves are shown as follows

Ukraine s international reserves are a reassuring 26 billion, roughly one quarter of the country s GDP.

Africa is estimated to hold more than 10 of global oil reserves and one third of reserves of cobalt and base metals.

In fact, estimates by the International Energy Agency suggest that the most significant recoverable reserves of shale gas are in the US and China, not Europe.

a Including earmarked reserves, the total reserves are 70 million for 2002, 93 million for 2003 and 68 million for 2004.

It has done so at a cost, however, as international reserves declined by 2.4 billion in 2000 and by 1.6 billion in the first half of 2001.

a Including earmarked reserves, the total reserves are 70 million for 2002, 93 million for 2003 and 68 million for 2004.

And, to address volatile capital flows, countries should increase exchange rate flexibility, maintain adequate international reserves, and implement carefully designed capital controls.

Rich countries also helped to create the Paris based International Energy Agency, which coordinates policies (including strategic reserves) among consumer countries.

It has 10 of global oil reserves.

Total reserves of titanium are estimated to exceed 600 million tonnes.

The idea was to permit countries whose official dollar holdings were larger than they were comfortable with to convert dollars into SDRs.

In 2008, the last year for which figures are available, Japan held 23.4 of the world s reserves and China held 44.8 .

They have also aggravated the weakness of external finances, contributing to a sharp drop in international reserves that has been contained only by exceptional loans and deposits from abroad.

Once the tailspin began in 1997, governments lack of reserves hampered their ability to rescue failed banks, forcing them to appeal to international institutions for relief.

First, unlike in some other countries, Chinese commercial banks are paid reasonable interest rates on required reserves, except for the extra reserves that they hold.

The obvious candidate for this reserve fund was US Treasury bills.

Selling 2 trillion of reserves will take years.

At the time of the announcement, the country had 5.65 billion in cash reserves.

Similarly, the creation of international strategic resource reserves on neutral territory and under neutral management could help alleviate concerns about politically motivated disruptions.

How can the need for large foreign exchange reserves experienced by emerging market developing countries to provide self insurance against volatility in international trade and financial flows, and the cost of those reserves, be reduced?

Run down the financial reserves and wealth that were accumulated when the economy was doing better.

The problem is not a lack of reserves, but Gazprom s investment strategy.

The first is to weaken China s incentive to accumulate reserves.

But almost all of the reserves sit idle on commercial banks balance sheets.

In normal times, there are valid reasons for paying interest on excess reserves.

Today, however, several (though not all) emerging market countries are benefiting from years of considerable efforts to reduce their financial vulnerability by accumulating huge amounts of international reserves.