KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) international reserves rose 0.7% to US$98.7 billion (RM436.1 billion) as at June 15, 2017, from US$98 billion (RM433.3 billion) as at May 31, 2017.

In a statement today, the central bank said the reserves position is sufficient to finance 8.2 months of retained imports and is 1.1 times the short-term external debt.

Foreign currency reserves comprised the biggest portion of reserves at US$92.3 billion, up from US$91.6 billion on May 31.

Meanwhile, its International Monetary Fund reserves position was at US$800 million while special drawing rights (SDRs) were at US$1.1 billion. Gold made up US1.5 billion of the international reserves and other reserve assets totalled US$3 billion.

As at June 15, 2017, total assets were RM463 billion, while currency in circulation stood at RM104.27 billion, said the central bank.