The Bank of Mozambique (BdM) announced that Net International Reserves (NIR) reached new highs in May, surpassing $3.8 billion (240.1 billion meticais).
The central bank’s report, released by Lusa, recalls that in April, these reserves stood at $3.7 billion (233.8 billion meticais), covering more than three months of the country’s estimated import needs.
The financial institution notes that the reserves — held in foreign currency — had hit their lowest point in a year in February, dropping to $3.5 billion, before rising 1% in March to $3.6 billion. However, back in July 2024, the NIR had already reached 239.8 billion meticais ($3.8 billion) — then considered the highest level in recent years.
In May, BdM Governor Rogério Zandamela revealed that the country experienced a “dollarization” of the economy at the end of 2024, driven by post-election instability. This caused significant pressure on the foreign exchange market and led to attempts to withdraw foreign currency from the national banking system. When asked about the foreign exchange liquidity guarantees announced in March — at a time when business owners were complaining about a shortage of foreign currency for imports — Zandamela explained that the position was based on assessments available at the time. Later, a trend of “shielding” through the dollarization of financial and non-financial assets became apparent.
“This isn’t unusual. In times of crisis (…) it’s also a matter of confidence. Many people left the country. Some lost trust, wanted to sell everything they had and leave: ‘Does our country have a future or not?’ That pressure isn’t surprising, it happened. But no one talked about what they were doing — and they weren’t going to,” he emphasized.
The governor acknowledged that the pressure on foreign currency access was “very strong”, but assured that the national banking system acted responsibly: “Banks know their clients.”
Source: DE
