Times Of Swaziland: GROSS RESERVES UP TO E7.8 BILLION

GROSS RESERVES UP TO E7.8 BILLION
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 BY ASHMOND NZIMA  on 07/08/2020 00:36:00


MBABANE - Gross official reserves were recorded at E7.8 billion at the end of
the past month.
This reflected a month-on-month expansion of 14.8 per cent. The expansion was 26
per cent year-on-year.
The Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE), in a statistical report covering June and
July 2020, disclosed that the rise in the reserves was mainly attributed to the
inflow of the usual quarterly Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) receipts at
the beginning of July 2020.
At this level, the reserves were equivalent to an import cover of 3.3 months,
higher than the 2.9 months observed in June 2020.
Valued in special drawing rights (SDRs), the reserves amounted to SDR 326.0
million at the end of July 2020, reflecting month-on-month growth of 13.9 per
cent.
Cover
One common rule of thumb is that reserves that can cover three months’ worth
of imports are adequate.
Reserves are assets held on reserve by a central bank in foreign currencies.
These reserves are used to back liabilities and influence monetary policy.