NBR''s foreign currency reserve slightly down

Last month the NBR”s foreign currency reserve saw a slight drop, by 80.3 million euros, to 18.2 billion euros. This is the first obstacle to hold back the expansion of the foreign reserve of the central bank over the last two years. Foreign currency inflows totalled 428 million euros in May, the lowest level seen for more than a year. March had seen inflows to the reserve worth over one billion euros, after the NBR had increased the rate of minimum reserves that the banks have to set up for resources attracted in foreign currency. In April, the volume of inflows had dropped to some 558 million euros. Outflows in foreign currency totalled almost 509 million euros, accounting for payments on the principal and interests for the direct foreign public debt secured by the Finance Ministry, the modification of minimum reserves in foreign currency and commissions. ZF