Official reserve assets up USD 52 mln in April

At the end of April, the official reserve assets of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) reached USD 837.8, by USD 51.8 mln more against the indexes in March. The foreign currency reserves totalled about USD 1.07 in March, by USD 22 mln more compared with February. According to the data from the NBM the foreign currency assets increased by USD 10.1 mln, up to USD 786.1 mln. The currency reserves of the NBM at the end of 2006 amounted to USD 775 mln, over the target of USD 750 mln, settled in the agreement signed with the IMF, the data from the central bank show. During 2006, the currency reserves had a spectacular evolution of USD 597 mln, at the beginning of the year, up to USD 775 mln at the end of the year. The analysts say that in 2007 the currency reserves will continue to grow fast, as a result of the purchases of foreign currency on the internal market, as well as due to the fact that the IMF announced that it will increase the financing provided to Moldova. Annually in Moldova there are transferred USD 1.2 bln by the citizens of Moldova working abroad, of which a significant part is placed in the free circulation on the market. As a result, the NBM interferes on the market via purchases of currency.