At the end of April, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) reported gross foreign exchange reserves totaling 27.7 billion euros, reflecting a decrease of 822 million euros compared to the end of March. This level of reserves provides coverage for 6.8 months of imports, more than double the standard level needed to cover imports.
Net foreign exchange reserves at the end of April stood at 23.3 billion euros, 692.9 million euros less than at the end of March.
In terms of the exchange rate, the dinar remained almost unchanged against the euro in April. However, from the beginning of the year, the dinar has weakened nominally by 0.2% against the euro.
In April, the NBS bought a net total of 45 million euros on the interbank foreign exchange market but has sold a net 910 million euros since the start of the year in efforts to maintain the stability of the dinar’s exchange rate against the euro.
Outflows from foreign exchange reserves amounted to 619.3 million euros due to the state’s net deleveraging of foreign currency loans, payments of other foreign liabilities, and withdrawals of foreign exchange reserves by banks. Additionally, the NBS’s interventions on the domestic market led to outflows of 60 million euros.
Inflows into reserves, totaling 110.7 million euros, resulted from the management of foreign exchange reserves, donations, and other sources. Market factors had a negative net effect of 174.7 million euros, influenced by the weakening of the dollar against the euro by 4.7%, while the price of gold rose by about 6%, partially offsetting the losses.
