FORMER YUGOSLAVIA: DINAR IS DEVALUED

(26 Nov 1995) Serbo-Croat/Nat
Yugoslavia - the federated republics of Serbia and Montenegro - has devalued its national currency, the Dinar by 69 percent.
The new exchange rate pegged to one German Mark will be three-point-three-zero dinars, which equals the current black market rate.
The move is expected to give a much-needed boost to a desperate economy, hit by tough international sanctions, which have just been lifted as a result of the Dayton peace deal..
There's a mammoth job ahead of leaders in Yugoslavia to restore a semblance of confidence in the national currency, the Dinar.
The devaluation proposed by central bank Governor Dragoslav Avramovic and accepted by Belgrade's government late Saturday drops the dinar's value by 69 per cent and comes into effect today (Sunday).
The exchange rate now is one German mark to three-point-three-zero dinars... in U-S dollars, four-point-six-five dinars equals one dollar.
The previous official rate, established in January 1994, was one Dinar for one German mark, which was an attempt to rein in mounting inflation.
The devaluation is part of a package of economic measures aimed at
revitalising the domestic economy of the Federal Yugoslav Republic which comprises Serbia and Montenegro.
It follows the lifting of international UN sanctions against the former Yugoslavia after three-and-a-half years.
The sanctions were imposed to punish perceived Serb support for the aggression of their brethren in Bosnia's war.
Hit hard by the atrocities of war, the new federation is burdened by a 120 percent annual inflation rate.
700-thousand of its people are unemployed; about one third of the country's overall work force.
VOXPOP: "They are saying prices will not go up, we'll see now."
VOXPOP: "If we work hard, we'll have everything"
VOXPOP: "The previous par of Deutsch marks and Dinars was not right, they should have made it one to four, instead of one to three point three"
As part of the changes, the central bank governor has also announced a new economic programme to improve the country's balance of payments and to make it more competitive.
The programme includes measures to free up foreign trade.
But Avramovic has warned the country will not fully emerge from its economic slump unless it quickly abandons its centralised command economy and embraces a free market system.
Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: / ap_archive
Facebook: / aparchives ​​
Instagram: / apnews
You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

[@fuuz642]

Opreem dobro!