Serbia’s Central Bank Resumes FX Purchases as Reserves Rise to €30.5bn

The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) resumed net foreign-currency purchases in the second quarter of 2026 as market conditions shifted toward appreciation pressures, reversing the direction of its earlier foreign-exchange intervention.

From April through the end of July, the central bank purchased approximately €900 million of foreign currency. The purchases reduced the cumulative net volume of foreign-exchange sales since the start of the year to around €320 million. The change followed a period in which the NBS had intervened to support the foreign-exchange market. From April, however, pressures shifted toward appreciation of the dinar, prompting the central bank to become a net buyer of foreign currency.

Reserves reach €30.5 billion

Foreign-currency purchases, combined with international bond issuance, contributed to an increase in Serbia’s reserve holdings. International reserves reached €30.5 billion at the end of July. The reserve stock was equivalent to approximately seven months of imports of goods and services, providing Serbia with a substantial external liquidity buffer. The reversal in NBS intervention coincided with stronger capital inflows, higher exports and international borrowing, which contributed to more supportive conditions in the foreign-exchange market.

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Exchange-rate stability remains part of inflation policy

The shift from reserve sales to accumulation reflects stronger demand for dinars rather than continued pressure requiring the use of foreign-currency reserves. Exchange-rate stability remains an important element of the NBS approach to inflation, given Serbia’s substantial imports of energy, industrial inputs, machinery and consumer goods.

A stable dinar limits the transmission of movements in global commodity prices into domestic prices by reducing the exchange-rate component of import costs. The accumulation of foreign-exchange reserves also increases the available external buffer against a renewed deterioration in geopolitical conditions that could weaken capital inflows while increasing Serbia’s energy-import bill.

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