The National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia Council held its III session today, discussing several issues.

Skopje, 25 February 2010

Press release of the NBRM

The National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia Council held its III session today, discussing several issues.

The Council passed a Decision on adopting the Annual Account of the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia for 2009 and the Independent Auditor's Report of PricewaterhouseCoopers Revizija DOO Skopje on the financial reports of the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia for 2009. According to the opinion of the independent auditor, the NBRM financial reports for 2009 give true and fair view of the financial position, financial performance and cash flows in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards. The Council also discussed the Information on implementation of the Financial Plan and the Information on fulfillment of the Plan for Investments in Fixed Assets of the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia for 2009. 

At its today's session, the Council was also presented with the macroeconomic developments stated in the last Monthly Report (02/2010). The Report recognizes continuation of the relatively favorable foreign exchange market developments, also demonstrated by the net-purchase of foreign currencies by NBRM. As of January 31, 2010, the gross foreign reserves totaled Euro 1,619.7 million, which is by Euro 22.2 million more compared to the end of 2009. The latest available external sector data show lower trade deficit, which alongside the higher private transfer inflows and lower income net-outflows compared to the previous year, contributed to narrowing of the current account deficit. In the January - November 2009 period, the current account deficit equaled 6.7% of GDP, compared to 11.3% in the same period of the preceding year. The current account gap was entirely financed by net-inflows to the capital and financial account. The December 2009 data show narrowing of the trade deficit (of 5.2% on annual basis) and favorable dynamics on the cash exchange market. Yet, although generally improved, the external sector prospects are still being clouded with risks (uncertainty regarding the expected exports revitalization and the magnitude of capital inflows to the domestic economy), creating a need of focused monitoring of flows and prudential behavior of economic policies. With respect to economic activity, in December 2009, industrial output again registered a monthly growth (of 6.6%), making the fall in the industrial output for 2009 decrease to 7.7%. Performances of other economic sectors (trade, construction and telecommunications) deteriorated in November 2009 compared to the preceding month. Yet, compared to the same month of the previous year, they slightly improved. The latest inflation data show that the uptrend of consumer prices demonstrated in the last two months continued in the first month of 2010. Relative to December, they increased by 0.7%, and compared to the same month of the previous year they went up by 0.1%. Banking sector data for January 2010 indicate continuation of the monthly uptrend of lending which started in the last quarter of 2009, given the 3.1% annual growth in the total banks' credits to the private sector. Such credit market developments were also driven by the favorable developments in the deposit base, given the annual growth of the total deposits of 8.8% (7.1% and 7.2%, in December and November 2009, respectively). 

Governor's Office