Banca Naţională a României

At end-July 2003, broad money (M2) ran at ROL 390,876 billion, up 0.6 percent in nominal terms (down 0.6 percent in real terms) month on month.

Net foreign assets moved up 12 percent to ROL 251,291 billion, on the back of the 14.6 percent rise under "Convertible currencies" and the broadly unchanged "Gold" component.

Net domestic assets stepped down 15 percent to ROL 139,584 billion. Domestic credit went down 10.6 percent to ROL 220,308 billion, while the negative balance under other assets, net, narrowed by 1.9 percent to ROL 80,723 billion.

Non-government credit rose by 3.2 percent in July (a real 20.5 percent climb in the first seven months of 2003) to ROL 231,600 billion, due to the 4.8 percent increase in loans in ROL and the 2 percent growth in loans in foreign exchange (up 3.4 percent when expressed in EUR).

Government credit, net, plummeted by 151.5 percent (to ROL -11,293 billion) as a result of: (i) expansion in deposits in domestic currency (following large tax collections) and in foreign exchange (following the launch of bonds on the foreign market) of the Ministry of Public Finance held with the National Bank of Romania; and (iii) redemption of government securities.

Narrow money (M1) advanced by 1.7 percent to ROL 93,725 billion on account of the 3.7 percent climb in currency outside banks (to ROL 54,460 billion), and the 0.9 percent drop in demand deposits (to ROL 39,265 billion).

Quasi-money crept up 0.3 percent to ROL 297,150 billion. Household savings inched up 0.04 percent to ROL 93,961 billion, accounting for 24 percent of broad money versus 24.2 percent at end-June.

Corporate deposits in ROL edged up 1.8 percent to ROL 50,620 billion. Time deposits went up 5.4 percent to ROL 28,068 billion, restricted deposits fell by 4.7 percent to ROL 10,180 billion and certificates of deposit inched down 0.6 percent to ROL 12,372 billion.

Forex deposits of residents (including households), when expressed in ROL, dipped by 0.08 percent to ROL 152,570 billion (when expressed in EUR, forex deposits amounted to EUR 4,106 million). Forex deposits of households went up 0.06 percent to ROL 73,357 billion (when expressed in EUR, deposits of households equivalent to EUR climbed by 1.4 percent, tantamount to EUR 2,028 million). Corporate deposits in foreign exchange slid by 0.3 percent to ROL 67,959 billion (when expressed in EUR, they stepped up one percent to EUR 1,829 million)

At end-July, non-banks held government securities totalling ROL 40,651 billion (down 6.4 percent month on month), of which foreign-exchange-denominated securities amounted to USD 33.6 million, 68.4 percent lower than June.