Croatia's gross foreign exchange reserves reached €16.5 billion in March 2018, a record high level in nominal terms, Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) said in a report on Wednesday.

According to data released by the central bank (HNB) gross foreign exchange reserves totalled €16.5 billion at the end of March 2018, up by 2.5 percent compared to March 2017, and by 2.6 percent to February 2018.

The increase is partly due to HNB’s intervention in the foreign exchange market in January, when it purchased €405.5 million from commercial banks, and to a higher level of repo transactions agreed, RBA analysts said.

“The value of foreign exchange reserves is sufficient to cover more than eight months’ worth of goods and services, and fully covers the current debts towards foreign creditors which mature by the end of this year in the amount of €7.8 billion. The current level of foreign exchange reserves is therefore sufficient for the successful implementation of monetary policy, and for financing any possible imbalances in the balance of payments,” RBA said, citing the central bank’s commitment to preserving the stability of the domestic currency, the kuna.

Earlier this month, HNB intervened again to buy €320.5 million to ease the appreciation pressure on the kuna. The HNB maintains the kuna in a narrow exchange rate band against the euro, set between approximately 7.4 and 7.6 to the euro.

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