In 10 months of 2023, the MDL appreciated against the USD and the EUR.
According to the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization, the MDL appreciated against the USD by 5.2% - from 19.16 lei per USD as of January 1 to 18.16 lei per USD as of October 31. Against the EUR, the MDL appreciated by 5.7% - from 20.37 to 19.21 lei per EUR. These indicators were influenced by the fluctuations of the EUR and the USD on international markets, a higher supply of currency compared to the demand on the domestic market, as well as the absence of intervention of the National Bank on the domestic foreign exchange market in the form of currency purchases. It is noted that in 10 months of 2023 net supply of currency from individuals amounted to $2 billion 392.2 million (+24.9 times more than in 10 months of 2022) and exceeded by 1.5% the net demand for currency from economic agents - $2 billion 357.1 million (-1.1%). In September 2023, compared to the previous month, net supply of currency increased by 11%, while net demand - by 6.9%. Under these conditions, the National Bank did not purchase foreign currency in October. The stock of currency reserves of the National Bank at the end of October 2023 reached a new historical record - $5 billion 080.3 million (6.5 months of imports), which is by 13.5% more than at the end of 2022 and by 17.2% - compared to the situation at the end of October 2022. The Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization report on the socio-economic development of Moldova for 10 months in 2023 states the effects of monetary policy easing. In the context of interest rates reduction, a positive trajectory of demand for loans was noticed - the volume of new loans granted to citizens and businesses increased by 6.1% compared to January-October 2022. At the same time, relatively high interest rates caused the growth of attracted new deposits by 5.7%. The volume of M3 money supply amounted to about 140.2 billion lei at the end of October, increasing by 18.8% compared to the same period of 2022 and by 11.3% compared to the beginning of the current year. // 15.12.2023 - InfoMarket.
