FRENCH OFFICIAL RESERVES FALL SHARPLY IN JANUARY

  French official reserves fell 45.06
  billion francs to 375.95 billion at the end of January from
  421.00 billion at the end of December, the Finance Ministry
  said in a statement.
      It said the fall was largely due to sales of foreign
  currency that preceded the January 11 realignment of the
  European Monetary System (EMS).
      Foreign currency reserves fell by 8.91 billion francs
  during the month, the ministry said.
      This reflected outflows of 10.26 billion francs through
  operations of the French exchange stabilisation fund,
  counterbalanced by a gain of 1.35 billion francs resulting from
  the quarterly adjustment in the value of dollar deposits held
  with the European Monetary Cooperation Fund (FECOM).
      But most of the decline reflected a 33.90 billion franc
  deficit that France built up during the month with FECOM as a
  result of using very short-term financing instruments.
      The Bank of France, in conjunction with the Bundesbank and
  other central banks, intervened heavily in foreign exchange
  markets between late December and the January 11 EMS accord, in
  an attempt to hold down the mark, which was attracting a flight
  of funds from the dollar, and simultaneously shore up the
  franc.
      On January 11, the mark was revalued by three pct against
  the French franc, relieving pressure on the French currency.
      The fall in foreign exchange reserves took these reserves
  to 98.83 billion francs at the end of January from 107.74
  billion at end December.
      Gold reserves were unchanged at 218.45 billion francs.
      Reserves of European Currency Units fell to 73.25 billion
  francs from 75.27 billion at end December.
      Claims on the International Monetary Fund fell 219 mln
  francs to 19.31 billion francs.
  

