ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Foreign exchange reserves

Foreign Exchange Reserves are the money that a country has in the bank in other countries' currencies. Countries keep this money in reserve so they can use it to pay for things they need from other countries, like food and raw materials. For example, if a country needs to buy wheat from Canada, it can use its foreign exchange reserves to buy Canadian dollars, which it can then use to pay for the wheat.