The financial hard currency reserve in April 2012 was of 3.1 bln Euro and 2.3 bln USD, which leads to an euro equivalent (calculated for an euro/USD exchange rate of 1/1.32) of 4.9 bln euro, according to a Fin Min press release. From that amount, a 2002 foreign loan was returned on May 8, 2012 equal to 0.7 bln euro, lading to which is the interest matching 0.06 bln euro. Also, during May-July 2012, the Finance Ministry paid back RON matured bonds worth nearly RON 13.1 bln amid total bonds issues matching about RON 6.6 bln. Hard currency buffer exchange rate operations and their hard currency supply on July 24, 2012, resulted in a foreign currency reserve balance of circa 3.3 bln euro. The nearly 0.85 bln euro gap was used to buffer the yield up-trend on the state bond primary market due to the tense international situation and the liquidity structure of the Romanian banking system, and the domestic context as well. Available resources are therefore at a level similar to that in the first decade of May. Even if their structure is different from that back then.
