Croatia Forex Reserves Rise

Croatia’s gross foreign exchange reserves reached €16.5 billion ($19.45 billion) in March 2018, a record high level in nominal terms, Raiffeisenbank Austria said in a report on Wednesday. According to data released by the Croatia National Bank, or HNB, gross foreign exchange reserves totaled €16.5 billion at the end of March 2018, up by 2.5% compared to March 2017, and by 2.6% to February 2018. The increase is partly due to HNB’s intervention in the foreign exchange market in January, when it purchased €405.5 million from commercial banks, and to a higher level of repo transactions agreed, RBA analysts said. “The value of foreign exchange reserves is sufficient to cover more than eight months’ worth of goods and services, and fully covers the current debts towards foreign creditors which mature by the end of this year in the amount of €7.8 billion.  Earlier this month, HNB intervened again to buy €320.5 million to ease the appreciation pressure on the kuna (the central bank’s commitment to preserving the stability of the domestic currency).