The European Central Bank said today that the share of the euro in foreign exchange reserves continued to decline last year, while further decline is possible as soon as Russia gets the opportunity to reduce its own euro reserves (the Central Bank of Russia kept about 8% of world reserves in euros until 2022). The ECB has long argued that the European Union must take another step in financial integration if it wants to reverse this trend. Although interest rates in the eurozone have risen sharply, this has not improved the attractiveness of the euro, as rates are higher in many other countries and the economic prospects of the eurozone look uncertain.
The data showed that the euro's share among foreign reserves fell to 20% last year from 21% in 2022. The ECB added that in 2023, official reserve managers were net sellers of euro assets to the tune of around 100 billion euros. Meanwhile, the share of the US dollar, the Japanese yen and other non-traditional reserve currencies increased last year. The ECB estimates that the Swiss National Bank's euro-denominated reserves have decreased by 35 billion euros, mainly due to its interventions in support of the Swiss franc.