* Central bank says dollar still top in Russia FX reserves
* Ulyukayev says euro share slightly over 40 percent
* Technical issues to blame for earlier report on euro rise
* FinMin says comfortable with current forex composition
By Yelena Fabrichnaya
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MOSCOW, May 20 (Reuters) - The dollar remains the top currency in Russia's foreign exchange reserves, the central bank said on Wednesday, qualifying an earlier report that suggested the euro had edged ahead in the world's third biggest reserves.
The central bank's annual report on Monday had prompted speculation that Russia was trying to limit its exposure to the dollar, as it did during the past year by fully offloading $100 billion of bonds from U.S. agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Similar speculation gained ground around China, which holds the world's largest reserves, after it increased its exposure to gold and commodities.
Monday's central bank report showed the euro's share of Russian reserves, currently at $385 billion, at 47.5 percent on Jan. 1, 2009, up from 42.4 a year earlier, while the dollar allocation fell to 41.5 percent from 47.0 percent [ID:nLI467295].
"It was a technical mistake," Central Bank's First Deputy Chairman Alexei Ulyukayev told reporters, saying "yes" when asked whether the greenback is still the number one currency and adding that the share of euro was slightly over 40 percent.
Russia sold tens of billions of dollars in November-January in a bid to keep rouble depreciation under control, a move which could have skewed the composition of reserves at that time in favour of the euro as the cash pile does not have to be rebalanced on daily basis.
Ulyukayev told Prime-TASS news agency that the central bank's annual report also included other funds.
"As well as net currency assets, the Bank of Russia's annual report takes into account ... assets against which we have obligations -- the Finance Ministry's funds and the foreign currency funds of commercial banks held on correspondent accounts with us," Prime-TASS quoted Ulyukayev as saying.
He added that the central bank itself looked instead just at the net foreign currency position of reserves.
"In such foreign currency assets the share of investments in the dollar is around 47 percent and the euro 41 percent."
One other factor was foreign currency stockpiles at correspondent accounts of commercial banks with the central bank at the end of last year, when they were wary of a weakening rouble. The bulk of that cash was in euros, Ulyukayev said.
Separately, Deputy Finance Minister Dmitry Pankin told Reuters on Wednesday that Russia had no aims to drastically change the composition of its oil wealth funds which are managed by the central bank as part of the reserves.
"We are rather comfortable between our existing ratio. But it could be 5 percent in one direction, in another direction, it doesn't matter," Pankin said, speaking in English.
"It is not for us a crucial point to go out of dollars, or go out of euros ... We have no particular goals to raise the (share of the) euro." (Reporting by Yelena Fabrichnaya, writing by Toni Vorobyova and Dmitry Zhdannikov, editing by Victoria Main/Ruth Pitchford)