Phiwa Sikhondze
The Central Bank of Eswatini has reported a 20.9% increase in gross official reserves for the country.
According to the CBE’s Monthly Statistical Release for September/October 2023 the gross official reserves reached E9.2 billion at the end of October 2023, showing an increase of by 20.9% from September 2023.
The CBE’s monthly release provides a detailed analysis of the country’s reserves and the monthly performance of the official reserves. It provides an in-depth review of the performance from month to month and the possible drivers of the performances under review.
The report further reveals a positive change in the value of the gross official reserves, following a major decline that was noted in the August/September 2023 period.
As a result of this new change, the reserves prove to be enough to cover 2.9 months of imports, higher than the 2.4 months in September 2023.
The report attributes the monthly growth in reserves to the quarterly inflow of Southern African Customs Union receipts in the first week of October 2023.
The reserves also increased in terms of special drawing rights (SDR), the international reserve asset created by the International Monetary Fund. The reserves stood at SDR 376.3 million at the end of October 2023, up by 23.0% month-on-month and 7.6% year-on-year.
The CBE also reported data and analysis on other monetary aggregates, such as private sector credit, money supply, domestic liquid assets, discount rate and prime lending rate. It also highlighted some economic developments and outlook for the country.
The CBE is responsible for monetary policy, exchange rate regime, banking supervision, and financial stability in Eswatini.