TIRANA, June 17 – The depreciation of Albania’s national currency lek against the U.S. dollar and the Saudi Arabian and the UAE currencies increased Albania’s external debt by 4.5 percent or 18.6 billion lek (Euro 130 million) during the first quarter of this year compared to the final quarter of 2014, the Finance Ministry says.
The Albanian lek depreciated by 13.4 percent against all the US dollar, the Saudi Arabian Riyal (SAR) and the United Arab Emirates dirham (AED). However, the biggest increase is reported by the depreciation of the lek against the SDR, a quasi currency used within the IMF by its member states, with 9.4 billion lek (€65 mln) and the U.S. dollar with 5.4 billion lek (€37.5 mln).
Albania’s external debt climbed to 441 billion lek (€3 bln) or 29.6 percent of the GDP in the first quarter of 2015, registering a 7 percent increase compared to the end of 2014.
The majority of Albania’s external debt, some 54 percent is denominated in Euro, followed by the SDR with 28 percent, the USD with 10 percent.
With international oil prices having more than halved since their peak level in mid-2014, the Albanian lek has lost around a quarter against the US dollar in a similar situation with the Euro.
After hitting a 12-year high of around 130 lek last April, the U.S. dollar has lost some ground against both the Euro and Albania’s national currency this month.
The U.S. dollar dropped to 125 lek this week, down from an average of 129.97 lek last April when it registered a 12-year high making several key imports in Albania, especially fuel, much more expensive.
