Dinar on May 30: euro at 117.42, dollar at 100.85
The National Bank of Serbia set the official middle rate on May 30 at 117.4175 dinars to the euro and 100.8481 to the dollar, holding the currency steady.
- The dinar's middle rate against the euro on May 30 stood at 117.4175 dinars.
- The middle rate against the dollar was 100.8481 dinars.
- The key policy rate was held at 5.75 percent, with the next meeting on June 11.
- The NBS has sold a net of about 1.2 billion euros since the start of the year to keep the rate stable.
The National Bank of Serbia set the official middle rate on May 30 at 117.4175 dinars to the euro and 100.8481 to the dollar. The reading lands on a day when the foreign exchange market is moving in a narrow band, with shifts measured in hundredths of a percentage point.
Over the year, the dinar has weakened against the euro by about 0.1 percent in nominal terms. That is a change households barely register in daily spending, but for importers and exporters operating in currency pairs every basis point feeds into the margin and working capital. The rate remains stable, which is the stated aim of monetary policy.
What does defending the rate cost?
Stability carries a cost measured in reserves. The National Bank of Serbia has sold a net of about 1.2 billion euros on the foreign exchange market since the start of the year to hold the level of the rate. That makes the central bank a net seller of euros, meaning demand for foreign currency outpaced supply, with intervention preventing sharper moves in the dinar.
The move is a standard tool of a managed-float regime. The bank sells euros when there is pressure for the dinar to weaken and buys when the pressure runs the other way. A balance of 1.2 billion euros on the selling side shows the direction in which the dominant pressure has run this year.
What happens before the next meeting?
The key policy rate was held at 5.75 percent, and the next meeting of the Executive Board is scheduled for June 11. No change in the price of money is expected before then, so the rate will continue to depend on the mix of currency flows and market intervention.
For the business sector, the May 30 snapshot offers a predictable framework for settling liabilities and receivables in euros and dollars. Investors and firms planning capital spending in the coming weeks have reference points in the figures of 117.4175 and 100.8481 dinars, as well as the 5.75 percent rate that stays in force until the June meeting.
Does the dinar’s exchange rate matter more to you at the till or in the value of your savings?
