Macedonia’s foreign reserves rise 25.5% y/y to €2.48bn at end-January

By bne IntelliNews February 9, 2015

Macedonia’s gross foreign reserves increased by 25.5% y/y to €2.48bn at end-January, after expanding by a revised 22.3% y/y at end-December, preliminary central bank data showed. We estimate that the current reserve coverage is equal to about five months of imports of goods and services.

On a monthly comparison basis, the total reserves stock rose 1.9% at end-January, after growing by 0.8% a month earlier.

We remind that Macedonia sold a €500mn 7-year Eurobond on July 17 in a bid to fund parts of the 2014 and 2015 budgets and to repay a €150mn Eurobond due in 2015 and IMF loans worth a total of €220mn.

The value of monetary gold went up 22% y/y to €244.4mn at end-January, while the value of SDRs fell 1% y/y to €4.4mn. Currency and deposits increased 73.3% y/y to €245.8mn, and the value of securities rose 21.8% y/y to €1.99bn.

Official reserve assets, €mn          
  Jan'14 Dec'14 Jan'15 % y/y  % m/m
Monetary gold 200.4 215.6 244.4 22.0% 13.3%
SDRs 4.5 4.3 4.4 -1.0% 4.6%
Foreign currency reserves          
- Currency and deposits 141.8 272.8 245.8 73.3% -9.9%
- Securities 1,632.4 1,943.7 1,989.1 21.8% 2.3%
TOTAL official reserve assets 1,979.1 2,436.5 2,483.7 25.5% 1.9%
Source: Central bank          

Related Articles

EIB surpasses investment milestone in the Western Balkans by investing €1.2bn in 2023

EIB Global, the financial arm of the European Investment Bank (EIB) for activities beyond the EU, set a new record by investing €1.2bn in the Western Balkans in 2023, the EIB said on February 9. ... ... more

bne IntelliNews Southeast Europe Outlook 2024

This Southeast Europe Outlook 2024 has been prepared by bne IntelliNews as part of a series of annual reviews providing updates on the geopolitical, macroeconomic and commercial state of ... more

North Macedonia banks' loan portfolio expands 5.3% y/y, deposits up 8% y/y at end-October

The total loan portfolio of North Macedonia’s commercial banks expanded by an annual 5.3% at the end of October to MKD437.7bn (€7.1bn), slowing slightly from a 5.8% y/y increase in the previous ... more

Dismiss