Serbia’s gross foreign exchange reserves grew by €111.7 million in August, bringing the total to €28.225 billion, according to the National Bank of Serbia (NBS).
This marks the highest level of gross foreign exchange reserves since data has been tracked in this way (since 2000).
The NBS notes that this amount of foreign exchange reserves ensures coverage of the M1 money supply by 182.2% and covers 7.4 months of imports of goods and services, which is more than double the standard that determines an adequate level of import coverage by foreign exchange reserves.
Net foreign exchange reserves at the end of August amounted to €23.984 billion (gross reserves minus foreign currency reserves of banks based on mandatory reserves, obligations to the International Monetary Fund under arrangements, and other liabilities), also reaching their highest level since data tracking began.
Compared to the end of July, they increased by €71 million.
The largest inflows into foreign exchange reserves in August came from the NBS’s interventions in the domestic foreign exchange market, amounting to €235 million. Additional inflows came from foreign exchange reserve management, donations, and other sources, totaling €247.8 million.
These inflows were more than sufficient to offset the outflows from foreign exchange reserves, which included the net repayment of the state’s foreign currency loans (€134.6 million), maturing foreign currency securities issued on the domestic financial market (€116 million), and other outflows totaling €121.6 million.
The increase in foreign exchange reserves was also influenced by the positive net effect of market factors amounting to €1.1 million, primarily due to a 3.6% rise in the price of gold, while the weakening of the US dollar against the euro by around 2.3% on international markets had a negative impact.
Photo: NBS