Slovakia's foreign exchange reserves dropped again in mid-May, closing on May 19 at $4.1175 billion, down $27 million from the previous week.
The forex reserves of the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) decreased $48.5 million to $2.7090 billion, while the forex reserves of commercial banks swelled $21.5 million to $1.4085 billion, central bank officials said on May 21.
The decrease in the NBS's forex reserves was caused by its interventions on the forex market against the excessive volatility of the Slovak crown exchange rate. The NBS sold 80-90 million euros in successive interventions.
Slovakia's total forex reserves reached a high point on September 16, 1998, when they totaled $8.0078 billion. This increase was caused by the pre-election expectations of banks and their clients, who started to convert massive volumes of crowns into foreign currencies.
