The energy crisis and the war in Ukraine had a strong impact on the Moldovan currency market.
As economic expert Veaceslav Ionita notes, for the first time in history Moldovan citizens bought more currency than they sold. Only in March about $400 million was exchanged. However, the National Bank managed to cope with the situation and now the foreign exchange market is stabilized. Veacheslav Ionita said that last year our people sold $4 billion and bought $1.6 billion, while during the last six months the country had a deficit of $830 million - the difference between the demand and the hard currency. According to the expert, this is largely due to the energy crisis, the high price of gas and, to a lesser extent, the war in Ukraine, which caused a little anxiety among the population. He also pointed out that there was a difference between the commercial margin of the National Bank, commercial banks and currency exchangers, which earned tens of millions of lei. Now, despite the fact that the deficit is close to $1 billion, NBM reserves decreased by only $484 million. The rest of the money was compensated by external partners. Veaceslav Ionita is sure that in the following 2-3 months, all the reserves of NBM will be refilled with money coming from foreign partners. To this sum there will be added $400 million, which Moldovan citizens bought for their savings. Now they will sell them to spend them. Despite the fact that there is a strong strengthening of the USD internationally, the economist argues that the MDL remains strong against other currencies because the Ukrainian currency has depreciated sharply. Beginning in 2018, the MDL starts the year at almost the same level against the USD and the EUR. The Moldovan currency is almost stable, but during the year there are fluctuations and certain shocks. // 26.04.2022 - InfoMarket
