“The IMF is expanding the list of currencies separatelyidentified in the Composition of Foreign Exchange Reservesreporting (COFER) template,” said an IMF spokeswoman as citedby The Wall Street Journal. “The implementation of the revisedCOFER Report Form, with separate identification of the Australiandollar and Canadian dollar, is scheduled for the first half of2013.”The IMF holds report figures of the global reserve holdings in adatabase known as the COFER mainly in just five currencies, deemedby many investors to be among the world’s safest: US dollars,euros, British pounds, Japanese yen and Swissfrancs. Recent economic problems associated with the euro and the dollarset a continuing trend for the diversification of the reservecurrencies as a way out from the volatility, Yaroslav Lissovolik,chief economist at Deutsche Bank in Moscow told RT.“It is definitely a trend and this trend will continue. Thereis a global demand for more reserve currencies. The world economywants to diversify the set of reserve currencies as a way from thevolatility and the problems associated with the current reservecurrencies, because both US and Europe are plagued by economicproblems. This is natural and clear that the global economy shoulduse more foundations, more columns on which to stand and build astronger foundation of a more complex globaleconomy,” said Lissovolik.The best chance to join the Canadian and Australian dollar thisyear has the New Zealand dollar which looks in the longterm more reliable, Anna Bodrova currency analyst from Investcafetold RT. If the IMF adds it to the list of reserve currencies, theinternational system calculations will be more transparent andthere will be an opportunity to make more accurate long-termforecasts, she said.Australia and Canada both have resource based economies thathave been benefiting from the growing demand for raw materials inAsia and other regions, which have given both countries the opportunity to emerge from the global financial crisis in muchbetter shape than either the US or Europe, according to The WallStreet Journal.Russia is with Australia and Canada in the same group of theresource focused economies. But Russian ruble is not as readyas it seems to become a reserve currency, as it is subject toexternal influence, Bodrova told RT. For the situation to beclearer, the Russian Central Bank needs to decide whether it shouldlet the ruble float freely or continue to regulate it. If theCentral Bank continues to regulate it, ruble’s chances to become areserve currency will increase.”So far I see no basis to include the Russian ruble tothe list of reserve currencies in the next two years”, Bodrovasaid.There are some differences that may pertain to issues concerningmonetary policy, exchange rate flexibility and the degree of thedependency of the economy on oil and oil prices that limit Russia’sprogress, according to Lissovolik.If Russia strengthens the ruble’s role in the Commonwealth ofIndependent States (CIS) region and increases the share of tradeand investment in rubles globally, then the Russian currency willbecome a global reserve currency, he says.“If we see the ruble used more intensively in the Russiantrade, then this is something that may eventually lead to the rubletaking the role of one of the global reserve currencies. Thepotential for that is very much there,” Lissovolik says adding“Eventually it is a question of time the ruble becomes a globalreserve currency”.Concerning the Chinese yuan, it is unlikely to becomea reserve currency in the near future, as China has been aclosed country for a long time, and only in the last year anda half the country began to open up, to let in foreigninvestors and show willingness to reform its system, Bodrova toldRT.“The yuan is not yet being traded by its marketvalue,” she said.
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IMF to add AUD and CAD as reserve currencies; which one’s next?
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