They said the buffer fund makes it unlikely for Romania to draw money from a EUR3.5 billion precautionary agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
Central bank officials said recently that Romania’s financial reserves would only last for another four months if the country doesn’t attract money from the market.
In theory, the authorities could access the IMF money, said Lucian Croitoru, adviser to the central bank governor.
Under the loan agreement, the Finance Ministry has pledged to boost its liquidity buffer to around 20 billion lei (EUR4.6 billion) to finance the budget deficit and cover debt payments stretching over a period of four months.
The buffer fund was set up following discussions during an IMF review mission early this year.