The National Bank of Moldova during the first 15 days of February sold US$87 million on the home market in a move to temper the depreciation of the national currency. On February 13, the official foreign exchange reserves came to US$1.850,4 billion lei, which is enough to cover the import of goods and services during 3.3 months, IPN reports.

According to a communique of the central bank, compared with the end of 2014 the Moldovan leu depreciated by 25.5% against the US dollar and by 17.8% against the euro, with the discrepancy between the supply and demand of foreign currency continuing to widen.

The net purchases of cash in foreign currency this January by banks halved, while the net demand of foreign currency on the part of legal entities, mainly importers of energy resources, rose by 19.7%. The demand was 47.1% satisfied, as against 83.4% last January.

Last month the central bank sold US$114. 4 million on the home market, tempering the depreciation of the national currency. Furthermore, the base rate over the last two months was increased from 3.5% to 8.5%, while the norm of financial resources attracted in lei was raised from 14% to 18%.

In the immediate period, the persistence of the factors that lead to the depreciation of the national currency, especially the reduction in remittances, will discourage internal consumption and the import of goods and services. Consequently, the balance of trade is expected to steady, while the exchange rate of the leu to stabilize.

In 2014, the national currency market was marked by a considerable discrepancy between the supply and demand of foreign currency owing to the reduction in the supply following the bans imposed by Russia on the import of Moldovan products and the decline in cash transfers from abroad to private individuals.