Tonga's foreign reserve declines, due to growth in imports [1]
Friday, June 6, 2008 - 17:27. Updated on Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - 15:42.
Tonga's official foreign reserves for May held by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga, stood at $89.5 million, the equivalent of 3.6 months of imports of goods.
Although the Foreign Reserve fell by $0.2 million in May, its importing value remained at 3.6 months, as it was in April.
The NRBT stated that the main reason for the decline in reserves in recent months has been an increase in payments for imports, particularly due to higher payments for fuel.
Meanwhile, inflows, especially tourism receipts, have grown since the start of the year, but not enough to offset rising imports. Compared to the same time last year foreign reserves are higher in dollar terms, but the pace of growth in imports means that import cover has actually fallen.