Maputo, April 8, 2026 (Lusa) - Mozambique's Net International Reserves (NIR) surged to a new record of $4.258 billion (€3.365 billion) in February, shortly before the government utilised these funds in March to settle its outstanding debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to a Bank of Mozambique statistical report seen by Lusa on Wednesday, these foreign currency reserves, essential for the importation of goods and services, had risen by 1% during September, to $3.937 billion (€3.409 billion), the same as in October, following the previous high of $4.035 billion (€3.494 billion) in August.
From December to January, they rose by almost 1%, covering more than four months’ worth of import requirements for goods and services, reaching a new high in February, the report said.
However, in response to complaints from business owners regarding a shortage of foreign currency in the banking sector, a Mozambican government source interviewed by Lusa admitted that the possibility of lowering this level of reserves is under consideration.
In November, the economic confederation's president, Álvaro Massingue, said that despite the significant volume of reserves, business leaders have continued to express concerns about a shortage of foreign currency needed to import goods.
“The shortage of foreign currency is now an economic emergency since, without foreign currency, companies cannot import raw materials, cannot fulfil contracts and cannot grow.”
“The state must ensure priority access to foreign currency for manufacturing, exporting companies and create incentives for those who export and substitute imports,” he said.
The Mozambican finance minister, Carla Loveira, said on Tuesday that the government had successfully completed a full and early repayment of its debt to the IMF using international reserves, saying that the decision did not compromise state institutions.
"We have paid off our debt to the IMF using the country’s international reserves we already held, or that were available at international financial institutions", she said.
She explained that the funds used for the €630 million repayment to the IMF constituted financial assets held by the country, and that there was no requirement to implement a budgetary amendment for that specific purpose.
The debt repayment posed no risk to the operation of Mozambique’s state institutions, she said, adding that the settlement had not been funded through the national budget.
The Mozambican finance ministry confirmed on Thursday that it had made a “full and early repayment” of €630 million to the IMF, settling loans taken out under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust.
Mozambican business leaders consider that the settlement of Mozambique’s entire debt to the IMF would help consolidate confidence among external partners and create conditions for deeper economic and financial cooperation, warning that macroeconomic stability must be accompanied by “consistent domestic measures that promote inclusive and sustainable growth”.
PVJ/MYAL // ADB.
Lusa
