Syrian central bank’s gold reserves unchanged since start of civil war

Syria’s cash reserves stand at only $200 million, while its gold reserves remain unchanged at 26 tonnes, the same level recorded at the onset of the civil war in 2011.

According to the World Gold Council, citing data from the central bank of Syria, Syria’s gold reserves stood at 25.8 tonnes in June 2011. At current market prices, that equates to approximately $2.2 billion, Reuters calculations revealed.

Meanwhile, Syrian caretaker Prime Minister Mohammad al-Bashir told Al Jazeera TV on Tuesday that the country’s foreign currency reserves are extremely low.

One source told Reuters that the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves amount to around $200 million in cash. Another source indicated that the U.S. dollar reserves are “in the hundreds of millions.”

Both current and former Syrian officials revealed to Reuters that Syria’s dollar reserves have been nearly depleted.

The depletion is attributed to the former regime leader Bashar al-Assad’s government’s increasing reliance on these reserves to finance food imports, fuel and its ongoing war efforts.