Gross foreign exchange reserves at the end of October 2021 amounted to 16.3 billion euros, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) announced.
These reserves, as stated, provide coverage of the money supply M1 of 145 percent and more than six months of imports of goods and services, which is twice the standard that determines the adequate level of coverage of imports of goods and services by foreign exchange reserves.
“Gross foreign exchange reserves have increased by 3.2 billion euros in the past year, compared to the end of October 2020. At the end of October, gross foreign exchange reserves were 24.7 million euros lower than at the end of the previous month, while net foreign exchange reserves, ie foreign exchange reserves reduced by banks’ foreign exchange assets on the basis of required reserves and other bases, amounted to 13.9 billion euros and were 387.1 million euros less than at the end of the previous month,” the statement said.
The decrease in foreign exchange reserves in October is primarily the result of the government’s net deleveraging on the basis of foreign currency loans and settlement of other foreign currency liabilities, in the total amount of 317.8 million euros.
Foreign exchange reserves were reduced due to the activities of the NBS, in order to maintain relative stability in the domestic foreign exchange market, so the net outflow of foreign exchange was 115 million euros, as well as the usual activities of banks based on foreign exchange required reserves with a net outflow of 99.9 million euros.
Inflows into foreign exchange reserves based on donations, efficient management of foreign exchange reserves and other bases were higher than other outflows by eight million euros.
The volume of realized foreign exchange trade on the interbank foreign exchange market in October, as it is stated, amounted to 593.6 million euros and was 15.9 million euros higher than in the previous month.
In October, as well as since the beginning of this year, the value of the dinar against the euro is almost, as stated by the NBS, unchanged.
The NBS sold a net 140 million euros on the interbank foreign exchange market in October, and since the beginning of the year, in order to maintain the relative stability of the dinar exchange rate against the euro, it has bought a net of 960 million euros, N1 reports.
