National Bank of Serbia’s (NBS) FX reserves amounted to EUR 10,533.5 million at end-April, covering M1 by 317% and around seven months of imports of goods and services.
NBS interventions in the IFEM (EUR 110.0 million net) were the major inflow channel to FX reserves in April. In addition, significant inflows came from loan disbursements and grants (EUR 88.1 million) and the sale of euro-denominated government securities in the domestic financial market (EUR 41.4 million).
The largest outflow from FX reserves was due to the withdrawal of banks’ FX required reserves (EUR 71.9 million net). Other significant outflows were registered on account of settlement of the Republic of Serbia’s liabilities to foreign creditors (EUR 56.9 million) and repayment of debt to the IMF under the 2009 stand-by arrangement (EUR 32.8 million).  Net FX reserves, defined as FX reserves less banks’ required reserves in foreign currency and drawings from the IMF under the arrangement concluded in 2009, came at EUR 8,370.0 million at end-April.
Trading volumes in the IFEM reached EUR 628.7 million, down by EUR 133.7 million from the month before. In the first four months of 2015, interbank trading volumes totalled EUR 3,101.4 million.
In April, the dinar appreciated against the euro by 0.1% nominally, while the NBS intervened in the IFEM by buying EUR 140 million and selling EUR 30 million in order to ease excessive daily volatility of the exchange rate.
Source; Governor’s Office National Bank of Serbia
