IMF Representative in Chisinau: Foreign currency reserves will enable central bank to alleviate external developments’ impact on Moldova

“The last week events on the foreign financial and goods markets make us believe that time will be needed for the situation to normalize,” the Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Chisinau Johan Mathisen told the reporters, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. As regards the effects on the Moldovan economy, Mathisen said that the foreign currency reserves of US$1.8 billion accumulated by the National Bank of Moldova during the past two years are sufficient and will allow the bank to alleviate the external influences. “The negative impact on Moldova’s economy might be unessential,” Mathisen said. An IMF mission that visited Chisinau during September 11-18 noted the progress in curbing inflation. It said that growth performance has been good and that the outlook for 2009 remains positive, despite the regional slowdown and worsening current account deficit. The turmoil on the foreign stock exchanges is fueled by the bankruptcy of the fourth U.S. bank Lehman Brothers and by the taking over by the Bank of America of Merrill Lynch. In order to stop the crisis, the Federal Reserve System (the central bank of the U.S.) will lend $85 billion to the insurance company American International Group to save it from bankruptcy.