RIYADH: Qatar’s international reserves and foreign currency liquidity climbed 3.51 percent year on year in June to reach 258.88 billion Qatari riyals ($70.9 billion), according to data released by the Qatar Central Bank.

The reserves also edged up 0.29 percent from May, adding 744 million riyals during the month. The increase reflects the resilience of Qatar’s monetary framework amid global economic uncertainty.

Official reserve assets — which make up the core of the central bank’s holdings — rose to 199.65 billion riyals in June, marking a 4.46 percent annual increase and a 0.47 percent rise from the previous month.

The uptick was driven by higher gold reserves, stronger balances with foreign banks, and an improved reserve position with the International Monetary Fund.

Gold holdings rose to 44.5 billion riyals in June, slightly up from 44.3 billion in May. Special Drawing Rights deposits inched up to 5.26 billion riyals, while Qatar’s IMF reserve position grew by 81 million to 5.25 billion riyals.

Foreign bank balances jumped by 1.33 billion riyals to 17.75 billion, although the central bank’s holdings of foreign bonds and treasury bills dipped to 132.14 billion riyals, down 763 million from the month before.

In the wider Gulf region, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reported relatively stable reserve positions.

The Saudi Central Bank posted official reserves of SR1.716 trillion ($457.7 billion) in June, slightly down from SR1.721 trillion in May but up from SR1.647 trillion in April. The total includes SR1.620 trillion in foreign currency reserves and SR81.33 billion in SDRs. The IMF reserve position stood at SR13.28 billion, while gold holdings remained unchanged at SR1.62 billion.

Kuwait’s reserves totaled 14.106 billion dinars ($46 billion) in May, compared to 14.633 billion dinars in April, according to the Central Bank of Kuwait. Foreign currency and deposits abroad accounted for 12.49 billion dinars, with SDR holdings at 1.33 billion. Gold reserves remained steady at 31.7 million dinars.

Qatar’s total international reserves comprise official reserve assets — including foreign bonds, deposits, gold, SDRs, and IMF balances — as well as other liquid foreign currency holdings.