-->Russian gold and currency reserves keep stepping up

<font color=#0000FF>RBCnews:</font> 12.02.2004, Moscow 15:07:16.On February 6, the Russian Central Bank's gold and currency reserves reached $84.3bn, increasing by $200m over a week. The reserves have been stepping up for a fifth week in a row. Over this time frame, they added $7.2bn.Nevertheless, the latest rise in the Central Bank's reserves has been the smallest since October 31, 2003, possibly due to large foreign debt payments.