MOSCOW, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Russia's international reserves stood at 720.447 billion U.S. dollars as of July 1, down 3.61 percent, or 26.948 billion dollars, from the beginning of June, the Bank of Russia said Tuesday.
According to a statement from the central bank, foreign exchange reserves remained virtually unchanged in June at 421.457 billion dollars, down 0.02 percent from a month earlier.
The value of monetary gold, however, fell 8.25 percent during the month to 298.991 billion dollars, contributing to the overall decline in reserves.
The reserves consist of highly liquid foreign assets held by the central bank and the Russian government, including foreign currency holdings, special drawing rights, a reserve position in the International Monetary Fund, and monetary gold. ■