March 7 (SeeNews) - Serbia's central bank, NBS, said it warned exchange shops to stick to the permitted corridor of the dinar exchange rate, after citizens complained that the range does not comply with the NBS regulations.
The euro sell/buy rate cannot differ from the official middle exchange rate for the day by more than 1.25%, the NBS said in a statement on Friday.
The reason for the dinar to weaken at exchange shops is increased demand amid worries over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, local daily Danas quoted an exchange office chain owner in Belgrade as saying. Danas also quoted former NBS governor Dragan Soskic as saying that "Serbian citizens mistakenly make analogies with Russia, where some FX reserves are frozen," which has led to a rise in demand.
Companies can be fined with up to 2 million dinars ($18,459/ 16,997 euro) over the breach of the NBS regulations, the central bank added.
The central bank stressed that both banks and exchange offices have ample liquidity in terms of both dinar and foreign currency, and added there is no need to question the exchange rate stability in Serbia in the coming period.
"We repeat that we have enough foreign assets and cash and continuously supply sufficient quantities to the banking sector. Therefore, there is no need to worry or panic – citizens needn't withdraw deposits from banks, in which the assets are the safest and which are both well-capitalised and highly liquid, nor need they purchase foreign currency at exchange offices," the NBS said.
The euro sell rate stood at 117.9675 dinars on Monday, compared with 117.9708 dinars on Friday, NBS data showed. The official middle dinar/euro exchange rate of the NBS for Monday is 117.6147.
The euro sell rate at Serbia's largest exchange office chain, VIP Menjacnice, amounted to 119.08 dinars on Monday, according to the chain's website.