North Macedonia’s foreign exchange reserves increased by 9.6% year-on-year in March 2026, reaching €4.249bn (chart), the country’s central bank said on April 7.

Compared with February, the Southern European country's reserves fell by 5.5%, indicating economic stress likely related to rising business costs due to events in the Middle East.

Securities accounted for the largest share of the reserves, making up 73.7%, followed by monetary gold at 16.7%, while currencies and deposits represented the remaining 9.6%.

The structure of the reserves remained broadly unchanged, with securities continuing to dominate the portfolio, followed by monetary gold and a smaller portion held in currencies and deposits.

The central bank said in March that foreign exchange reserves stood at €5.56bn at the end of February, exceeding end-2025 levels and remaining adequate to support exchange rate stability. The country’s external position in 2025 outperformed expectations, providing a stronger buffer against potential shocks.

Earlier data showed that North Macedonia’s gross international reserves had declined toward the end of 2025. In December 2025, reserves fell 2.1% year-on-year to €4.925bn, following a 1.2% decrease in November.

The central bank said in March 2025 that foreign exchange reserves totalled EUR4.86bn at the end of February, a level "sufficient to sustain the stability of the domestic currency." 

The IMF said in its latest Article IV assessment that North Macedonia's growth accelerated to 3.5% in 2025, driven by construction investment and private consumption amid strong wage and credit growth.  However, the current account deficit widened to 4.4% of GDP and is projected to reach around 5% in 2026, partly due to higher energy imports, driven by the global oil price spike triggered by the Iran war.

The denar remains pegged to the euro, a policy the NBRM has maintained since 1997. Around 60% of public debt is denominated in euros, while remittances from the diaspora account for roughly 15% of GDP. 

The IMF warned that risks are tilted to the downside, with a prolonged Middle East conflict and higher energy prices potentially slowing growth, keeping inflation elevated and weakening the external position.