NBR's International Reserves in May 2000
02.06.2000
The forex reserves of the NBR amounted to USD 1,622.2 million on 31 May 2000 against the background of the full repayment of the foreign public debt service, on the one hand, and of the recent turmoil within the Romanian financial and banking system, on the other.
The forex reserves declined by USD 72.8 million as a result of the following operations:
- net purchases by the central bank from the forex market in amount of USD 153.2 million;
- repo transactions with foreign exchange-denominated government securities issued by the Ministry of Finance worth USD 70.6 million;
- principal and interest payments falling due, worth USD 77.5 million, on foreign public debt, direct and bearing the sovereign guarantee of the Ministry of Finance;
- net redemption of foreign exchange-denominated government securities issued by the Ministry of Finance on the domestic market worth USD 82.6 million;
- other net inflows in amount of USD 4.7 million (change in foreign exchange reserve requirements met by commercial banks, interest on bank investments, surrender of foreign exchange to official reserves, fees and bank commissions a.s.o.).
The gold stock stood at 104.1 tons, but owing to developments in the gold price on foreign markets, its value decreased to USD 911.4 million, leaving the NBR’s foreign reserves (gold included) at over USD 2.5 billion.
The payments on foreign public debt, direct and bearing the sovereign guarantee of the Ministry of Finance, as well as the NBR’s short-term borrowings, falling due by the end of 2000, will run at USD 592 million.
The National Bank of Romania is further striving to build up reserve assets and ensure timely repayment of the foreign public debt service.