At the end of November 2024, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) reported a new record for the country’s foreign exchange reserves, which reached EUR 28.7 billion. This marks the highest level of reserves ever recorded, reflecting a monthly increase of EUR 416.6 million compared to October.
The current level of reserves provides robust coverage for Serbia’s economy, ensuring 179.7% coverage of the M1 money supply and enabling the country to cover 7.3 months of imports of goods and services—significantly above internationally recommended standards, according to the NBS.
Record growth in net foreign exchange reserves
The NBS also highlighted that net foreign exchange reserves—excluding obligations related to bank reserve requirements and debts to the IMF—have reached EUR 24.5 billion, representing a record high. Net reserves saw a monthly increase of EUR 423.4 million.
Inflows and outflows in November
In November, the NBS recorded significant inflows and outflows that contributed to the increase in reserves. The largest inflow came from the NBS purchasing EUR 265 million in foreign currency on the domestic foreign exchange market. Additional inflows totaling EUR 102.7 million were generated through reserve management, the allocation of mandatory reserves from banks, donations, and other activities.
Outflows for the month totaled EUR 219.2 million, primarily driven by the state’s debt relief based on foreign currency loans and liabilities. Furthermore, a positive market effect of EUR 268.1 million, due to the strengthening of the dollar against the euro, also contributed to the rise in reserves.
Interbank foreign exchange market and dinar stability
The volume of interbank foreign exchange trading in November was EUR 756.3 million, which represents a decline of EUR 75.3 million compared to October. Since the beginning of 2024, total interbank trade has amounted to EUR 7.8 billion.
The dinar strengthened nominally against the euro by 0.1% in November, and has appreciated by 0.2% since the start of the year. To support exchange rate stability, the NBS bought EUR 325 million in November and has net purchased EUR 2.3 billion since the beginning of 2024.
