Mozambique's Net International Reserves (NIR) fell again at the end of the first half of this year to 3,209 million dollars, according to figures from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

According to the report on the implementation of the Economic and Social Plan and the State Budget from January 1 to June 30, quoted by Lusa, these reserves guarantee three months of the need for imports of goods and services, excluding imports from major projects, compared to the five months they guaranteed in the same period in 2022.

In the 2023 State Budget, the Mozambican government set itself the goal of building up Net International Reserves of 2,936.6 million dollars (2,686 million euros), "corresponding to three months' coverage of imports of non-factorial goods and services".

"Gross international reserves cover almost 4.3 months of imports [end-2022], which is above the commonly recommended minimum buffer," of "at least three months," says an IMF report on the final approval of the review of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for Mozambique.

It adds that Mozambique's international reserves have been "falling since the beginning of 2021" and reached 2.9 billion dollars (2.580 million euros) at the end of last year.

The IMF recognizes the impact of the "high costs" of fuel imports on Mozambique's international reserves, given the supply of foreign currency to the main fuel importers.