Central bank data show Mozambique’s international reserves surpass US$4 billion in August

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Central bank data show Mozambique’s international reserves surpass US$4 billion in August

12:39 CAT | 22 Oct 2025

File photo: Banco de Moçambique

Mozambique’s Net International Reserves (NIR) reached a new four-year high in August, rising to US$4.035 billion, according to data from the central bank.

These foreign currency holdings had recorded their lowest value in about a year in February, falling to US$3.593 billion. This was followed by six consecutive monthly increases, reaching US$3.995 billion in July and again setting new highs in August, covering more than three months of estimated import needs for goods and services, according to the latest statistical report from the Bank of Mozambique.

The central bank is adopting measures to increase liquidity in the foreign exchange market, attempting to redistribute the volume of available foreign currency to guarantee imports, said Governor Rogério Zandamela on 31 July.

“These measures are nothing more than adjusting here, taking from here certain resources, putting them elsewhere, and monitoring better,” the governor explained at a press conference in Maputo at the end of a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (CPMO).

“An increase in liquidity in the foreign exchange market is expected. To boost sales to the public, the Bank of Mozambique recently reduced the daily retention limits on foreign currency acquired by banks. This measure complements the decision to increase the minimum conversion rate of export revenues from 30% to 50%, which implies greater availability and access to foreign currency,” he added, referring to the conclusions of the meeting.

Responding to journalists’ questions about businesspeople’s concerns over the lack of access to foreign currency—particularly to secure imports—Zandamela noted that “there was a need to adjust certain segments of liquidity”.

“I repeat, this is very important. One thing is the aggregate distribution of liquidity, if it exists as a whole in our system, and another is whether it is adequately distributed among the various segments of the country—among exporters, importers, and investors,” he said.

The Mozambican President, Daniel Chapo, accused the banking sector in July of “creating” a shortage of foreign currency and turning it into a “business opportunity”, observing that foreign currency had never been lacking for dividend distribution.

“When there is a shortage of foreign currency, this shortage starts to be turned into a business opportunity. This even happens in commercial banks, where business is conducted every day. There is no real shortage [of foreign currency]; it is a created shortage,” President Chapo said on 15 July during a meeting with local businesspeople in Sofala province, central Mozambique.

The Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA) of Mozambique, the country’s largest business association, warned on 18 February that the lack of foreign currency in the banking market was affecting operations, particularly in the health, aviation, fuel, and food import sectors.

Source: Lusa