The Bank of Albania bought a record amount of 542 million euros for the 9th month of 2024

2024-12-25 09:20:00, Ekonomi CNA

The Bank of Albania bought a record amount of 542 million euros for the 9th

The Bank of Albania announced on Tuesday that it has bought 270.5 million euros in the domestic foreign exchange market only for the third quarter of the year.

According to information from the Central Bank, 94.4 million euros were purchased in the auctions planned for the purpose of increasing the foreign exchange reserve. While the amount of direct purchases, in order to curb the further fall of the Euro-Lek exchange rate, was even greater, with a total of 176.1 million euros.

The Bank of Albania started direct currency purchases as early as May and continued them until the beginning of August. Subsequently, direct currency purchase operations resumed in the fourth quarter of the year, but purchases are still estimated to have been lower compared to the third quarter.

According to official data published so far, for the first nine months of 2024, the Bank of Albania has purchased a total of more than 542 million euros in the domestic foreign exchange market.

This is by far the highest historical value of purchases by the Bank of Albania in the foreign exchange market for this period of the year.

Most of this amount, about 58%, were direct purchases for the purpose of controlling the exchange rate, while the remaining 42% were purchases made through auctions, in the framework of objectives related to the increase of the foreign exchange reserve.

After inflation at the beginning of this year fell below the target of 3%, the Central Bank decided to intervene in the foreign exchange market, withdrawing part of the large supply of euros and increasing the monetary supply of lek.

Despite the large purchases of the Bank of Albania, the exchange rate between the euro and the lek has continued to fall this year, touching new historical records, close to the level of 98 lek. In average terms, according to the Bank of Albania, for the 11 months of 2024, the exchange rate of the euro had the level of 100.9 ALL, down by 7.7% compared to the same period of 2023.

Considering the large amount purchased by the Bank of Albania, it is clear that in the absence of these purchases the exchange rate would have suffered an even greater decline.

The Bank of Albania has planned a further increase in foreign exchange purchases in 2025, at least in the part related to auctions to increase the foreign exchange reserve.

It aims to buy through auctions 270-350 million euros, or 20 million euros more compared to the 2024 target, both in the lower and upper ranges.

During the year 2025, a total of 22 auctions have been programmed for the purchase of currency, which will take place between the months of February and December. The highest concentration of purchases is expected in the summer season, when the currency supply is also greater.

The planned amount to buy in the first round in each auction will be between five and ten million euros, much the same as the 2024 auctions. However, the regulations allow the Bank of Albania to also carry out purchases in one round second, with the average rate of purchases in the first round./ Monitor magazine