According to Arkady Dvorkovich, a top aide to President Dmitry Medvedev, the fraction of American dollars in Russia’s currency reserves will decrease in the future. Even while the presidential advisor acknowledged that the final decision to take the appropriate steps would need to be made by the Central Bank, he expressed his reservations about holding Russia’s reserves in U.S. dollars.  At the same time, Mr. Dvorkovich indicated that the use of the Euro as Russia’s foreign reserve currency is not likely going to rise considerably. 

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation frequently makes alterations to the composition of the country’s reserves. As of the middle of June, the volume of foreign currency reserves totaled USD 520 billion. According to a Central Bank’s spokesman, the regulatory body will convert a portion of the reserves to Australian dollars.

As of the start of the summer, the composition of foreign currency reserves held by the Russian Central Bank was as follows: U.S. dollars – 47 percent, Euros – 41 percent, pounds sterling – 9 percent, yens – 2 percent, and Canadian dollars – 1 percent.