The UK government’s gross reserves fell $5.9bn to $220.0bn in October, from $225.9bn at end-September, HM Treasury said on Wednesday.
The Bank of England’s gross foreign currency holdings fell $7.1bn to $46.8bn, against $53.9bn at the end of September, when they had risen $5.9bn.
Treasury said that “No intervention operations were undertaken in October.” Intervention means buying or selling government foreign exchange reserves in the market.
Gross reserves are the government’s total holdings of foreign currency assets, International Monetary Fund (IMF) assets and gold. Net reserves are what remains after liabilities, which stood at $111.6bn at the end of October.
On that basis, the government’s net reserves fell $2.2bn to $108.4bn, compared with $110.7bn at end-September. That is the second monthly fall running, after a $6.0bn drop in September.
In sterling, the net figure was £80.9bn against £83.3bn a month earlier. Treasury converted the two totals at £1 = $1.33965 on 30 October and £1 = $1.32845 on 30 September.
| End of month | Government gross ($m) | Monthly change ($m) | Bank of England gross ($m) | Monthly change ($m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2026 | 228,107 | +7,979 | 48,044 | +384 |
| September 2026 | 225,911 | -2,196 | 53,894 | +5,850 |
| October 2026 | 220,033 | -5,878 | 46,765 | -7,129 |
The government’s gross reserves are now $8.1bn below their end-August level of $228.1bn, which means October and September together more than reversed the $8.0bn rise recorded in August.
The Bank of England’s holdings show a similar pattern. They are $1.3bn below the $48.0bn held at end-August, after a $5.9bn rise in September that October’s fall more than wiped out.
Net government reserves tell the same story. They stood at $116.7bn at end-August, after a $5.3bn rise that month, so the two falls since have taken $8.2bn off the total.
The Bank’s net foreign currency holdings, which are its gross holdings less matching liabilities, fell $24m to minus $25m, from minus $1m at end-September. In sterling, that is minus £18m, against minus £1m a month earlier.
The government’s official reserves comprise gold, foreign currency assets and IMF special drawing rights, an international reserve asset created by the IMF. They are held in the Exchange Equalisation Account, and the Bank of England manages them as agent.
Treasury describes monthly movements in the reserves as mainly resulting from volatility in foreign exchange markets. The reserves have grown since 2008-09, partly because of £72bn of additional government financing that ended in April 2020.
The Bank of England publishes the underlying data, and said that Treasury releases summary figures on the third working day of every month.
