The NBS Head Office Building was built from 1888 – 1890, on the basis of blueprints designed by Konstantin Jovanovic (Vienna 1849 – Zurich 1923), son to distinguished artist Anastas Jovanovic...
12/09/2023
Increasing by EUR 489.5 mn from a month earlier, gross NBS FX reserves reached EUR 23,623.7 mn at end-August, their highest end-of-month level on record (since 2000).
They covered 183.9% of money supply M1 and 6.3 months’ worth of the country’s imports of goods and services, which is more than twice the level prescribed by the adequacy standard.
Net FX reserves (gross FX reserves less banks’ FX balances on account of required reserves, liabilities to the IMF under SBA, and other grounds) also touched their all-time end-of-month high – EUR 19,476.0 mn, having increased by EUR 543.9 mn from July.
The August increase in gross FX reserves reflects primarily net FX purchase of the NBS in the local FX market (inflow of EUR 315.0 mn) and credit disbursement by the Republic of Serbia in the net amount of EUR 204.2 mn. Inflows also came from FX reserves management, grants, and other sources (EUR 67.0 mn in total).
These inflows were more than sufficient to cover the outflows on account of a withdrawal of banks’ FX required reserves, as well as the settlement of government FX liabilities and payments on other grounds (EUR 155.2 mn in total).
In August, FX reserves benefited also from the positive effect of market factors in the net amount of EUR 58.5 mn, largely a result of the strengthening of the US dollar against the euro by around 0.8%, while the drop in gold prices by around 1.4% in the international market worked in the opposite direction.
Trading volumes in the IFEM amounted to EUR 602 mn in August, up by EUR 46.3 mn from the month before. In the eight months of 2023, IFEM trading volumes totalled EUR 5,186.1 mn.
The value of the dinar against the euro stayed broadly unchanged in August, while rising nominally by 0.1% since the beginning of the year.
The NBS bought EUR 315 mn net in the IFEM in August and EUR 2,770 mn net since the beginning of the year, in order to maintain relative stability of the dinar against the euro amid pronounced appreciation pressures in the local FX market.
Governor’s Office
