In January-April 2017 Belarus' gold and foreign currency reserves went up by 3.7%, if calculated in accordance with methods of the International Monetary Fund, to total $5.1 billion, BelTA learned from the Information and PR Department of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus. According to the preliminary data, as of May 2017 the country's gold and foreign currency reserves totaled $5,108.7 million. The growth from the start of the year made up $181.5 million (3.7%). In April the country's gold and foreign currency reserves increased by $92.6 million (18%), following the March reduction by $6.2 million (0.1%) In national terms the volume of the gold and foreign currency reserves was up $263.4 million (4.9%) to $5,672.5 billion as of 1 May. The decrease in March made up $199.3 million (3.6%). In January-April 2017 the volume of the gold and foreign currency reserves in national terms went up by $487.5 million, or 9.4%. The National Bank informed that Belarus' gold and foreign exchange reserves were bolstered in April thanks to the third tranche of the EFSD loan, foreign currency purchases by the regulator via the Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange, revenues from selling government bonds nominated in foreign currency by the Finance Ministry and the central bank, revenues from export duties on oil and oil products, and also the increasing price for gold at the international market of precious metals. The main reason affecting the volume of gold and foreign currency reserves was the domestic and foreign commitments in foreign currency honored by the Belarusian government and the National Bank of Belarus. In 2016 Belarus' gold and foreign currency reserves rose by $751.4 million (18%) to $4.927 billion as of 1 January 2017. The country's monetary policy for 2017 envisages the growth of gold and forex reserves by at least $500 million.