The value of the BoA's gold reserves reaches its highest historical level

2025-06-30 07:24:00, Ekonomi CNA

The value of the Bank of Albania's gold reserves has reached its highest historical level this year. According to information from the Central Bank, at the end of April, monetary gold reserves reached the value of 313 million euros, an increase of 34% compared to the same period a year earlier.

According to the latest data, on December 31, 2024, the amount of gold reserves of the Bank of Albania was approximately 109 thousand ounces or about 3.4 tons. The amount of the reserve has remained unchanged compared to 2023.

The increase in the value of monetary gold is consequently due to the performance of its price in international markets, which have shown a clear upward trend in the last year.

According to the official exchange rate of the Bank of Albania, at the end of April one ounce of gold was exchanged for approximately 285 thousand lekë, while in mid-June the value of the gold exchange rate reached 289 thousand lekë, an increase of 32% compared to a year earlier. This change roughly coincides with the increase in the value of monetary gold within the country's foreign exchange reserves.

The last purchase of gold reserves, according to public information available from the Bank of Albania, was carried out in 2023. As part of the periodic revaluation of the weight of monetary gold in the foreign exchange reserve, in February 2023, the Supervisory Council decided to purchase 28 gold bars, amounting to 11,200 oz or about 0.35 tons.

Gold reserves constitute a relatively small part of the country's foreign exchange reserves, at around 4.7% of the value of the total assets of this reserve. However, the weight of gold in the structure of foreign exchange reserves has been increasing in recent years. A year ago, it accounted for 4.3% of the value of reserve assets, while two years ago it accounted for less than 4%.

According to data from the Bank of Albania, the value of reserve assets at the end of February reached 6.73 billion euros, up 7.4% since the beginning of the year and 23.6% compared to the same period a year earlier.

Last year, the growth of the foreign exchange reserve was influenced by the large purchases of foreign exchange by the Bank of Albania in the domestic foreign exchange market. According to official information published at the end of March, the Bank of Albania purchased approximately 933 million euros in the domestic foreign exchange market in 2024. The amount of foreign exchange purchased increased by 249% compared to the previous year.

The Bank of Albania has planned a further increase in foreign exchange purchases in 2025, at least in the part related to the foreign exchange reserve, although, as data so far last year have shown, the largest purchases have been direct ones, with the objective of controlling the exchange rate.

While in the first half of this year, the value of the reserve was positively affected by the issuance of the next Eurobond by the Albanian government. At the end of the process, 650 million euros of Eurobonds with a maturity of 10 years were issued and the funds obtained from them were transferred to the accounts of the Albanian government at the Bank of Albania. This has given a further impetus to the growth of the foreign exchange reserve./ Monitor Magazine