Foreign Exchange Reserves by Country

Why compare Foreign Exchange Reserves across countries?

Changes in reserves can signal active FX intervention. A sharp drop in JPY reserves, for example, often coincides with the BoJ selling dollars to defend the yen; rebuilds signal the opposite. Reserve adequacy ratios also matter for risk premia: countries with thin reserves face wider sovereign spreads and more fragile currencies during global risk-off episodes.

How to read the country list

Look at the level and the month-over-month change rather than the absolute number, which is dominated by valuation effects (USD strength changes the dollar value of EUR-denominated holdings even with no flows). For intervention signals, focus on the change relative to known FX moves.