Romanian Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves, up EUR 700 mln in March

The Romanian Central Bank's foreign exchange reserved grew by almost EUR 700 million in March this year, reaching a total sum of EUR 32.7 billion. This was possible due to a cash inflow of EUR 1.7 billion, of which EUR 1.2 billion represented the fourth installment payment of the European Commission (EC), which was granted on March 24. This was possible after EC had a positive evaluation on the implementation of the conditions agreed with the Romanian authorities. The total sum EC granted Romania in the last two years amounted to almost EUR 5 billion. This was in accordance with the loan approved by the Commission in 2009. On the other hand, the cash outflow has amounted to just over EUR 1 billion. Payments, interest rates and the depreciation of the U.S. dollar and the British pound were the direct causes of the cash outflow. Romania's international reserves, made of currencies and gold, reached a total sum of EUR 36 billion at the end of March, growing by almost EUR 1 billion compared to February this year. Alex Camburu, alex.camburu@romania-insider.com