September 7 (SeeNews) - The foreign exchange reserves held by Moldova's central bank totalled $4.818 billion (4.487 billion euro) as of August 30, down by $209.3 million from the end of July, the central bank said.
Foreign exchange outflows totalled $278.2 million as of August 30, the central bank, BNM, said in a monthly report on Wednesday.
The outflows mainly consisted of external debt payments in the amount of $240.7 million, of which $142.8 million represented the payment of the principal and anticipated interest associated with a loan issued by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to strengthen the security of Moldova's gas supply.
In August, foreign exchange inflows totalled $68.9 million. Inflows related to the required foreign currency reserves of licensed banks accounted for $24.16 while grants for investment projects amounted to $20.6 million. Revenues generated from the management of foreign exchange reserves generated $16.2 million.
The gold reserves held by BNM were worth $4.57 million at the end of August, down from $4.71 million at end-July.
($=0.9313 euro)