Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has presented misleading information about the level of foreign exchange reserves held by the National Bank of Serbia (NBS), while the central bank itself has remained silent, failing to clarify or correct his statements.
During a recent appearance on Serbia’s public broadcaster RTS, Vučić claimed that Serbia holds around €36 billion in foreign exchange reserves, including gold:
“We have €29.367 billion in foreign exchange reserves plus 52.5 tons of gold — historically the highest reserves — worth around €6.3 billion. That means we have €36 billion in foreign exchange reserves. We can defend the exchange rate for years,” he said.
However, official NBS data shows that as of the end of November, gross foreign exchange reserves were approximately €29.4 billion, which already includes the 52.5 tons of gold. This discrepancy raises questions about the origin of the €36 billion figure cited by Vučić.
Economic outlet Nova Ekonomija noted that gold is already included in the total and emphasized that the Serbian dinar is defended through market interventions, rather than the inflated reserve figures. The outlet criticized the NBS for not addressing the president’s claims:
“If the NBS has any objections regarding these figures, then you should ask the president,” it wrote.
Official data also shows that in November, the Serbian dinar depreciated by 0.1% against the euro, with a total depreciation of 0.3% since the start of the year. To maintain relative stability, the NBS has net purchased around €145 million since January.
Several economists caution that exceptionally high foreign exchange reserves are not necessarily positive, as these funds could be directed toward productive investments in the economy. Such high reserves are often justified only if a financial crisis is anticipated, but even signaling preparations for such a scenario can increase uncertainty and unsettle investors.
