Foreign currency reserves of NBS at EUR 10.5 billion in September

NBS FX reserves amounted to EUR 10,511.4 mln at end-September, covering 279% of the money supply M1 or around seven months' worth of imports of goods and services. They were by EUR 98.9 mln lower than at the end of the previous month, NBS announced in a release on Monday, 12 October 2015.

Substantial inflow to FX reserves (EUR 102.8 mln) in September came from the sale of euro-denominated government securities in the domestic financial market, NBS interventions in the IFEM and disbursement of loans and grants. Other inflows to FX reserves came at EUR 78.1 mln.

Major outflows from FX reserves in September were registered on account settlement of the Republic of Serbia’s liabilities to foreign creditors (EUR 170.7 mln), banks’ withdrawal of FX required reserves (EUR 71.3 mln, net) and repayment of debt to the IMF (EUR 14.6 mln) under the 2009 Stand-By Arrangement. Other outflows from FX reserves equalled EUR 13.0 mln, net.

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 8,480.0 mln.

Trading volumes in the IFEM reached EUR 366.8 mln, down by EUR 246.4 mln from the month before. In the first nine months of 2015, interbank trading volumes totalled EUR 5,945.2 mln.

The dinar appreciated against the euro by a nominal 0.4% in September, while the NBS intervened in the IFEM by buying EUR 80 mln in order to ease excessive daily volatility of the exchange rate, the release reads.