ZAGREB: The Croatian central bank said on Thursday it had bought 332.05 million euros ($367.51 million) from commercial banks in an auction to ease firming pressures on the national kuna currency.

It said it had bought the euros at an average rate of 7.3967 kuna. The kuna was quoted at 7.3940 to the euro after the intervention, slightly down from 7.3765 where it stood before.

It was the central bank's second intervention this month. Appreciation pressures on the kuna usually increase during the summer tourist season when the inflow of euros is particularly strong. On Aug. 9 the central bank bought 306.5 million euros from the banks.

So far this year the central bank has bought 1.09 billion euros from banks to ease kuna gains.

Croatia wants to adopt the euro by 2024 and the central bank keeps the kuna in a managed float regime, traditionally at between 7.3 and 7.7 kuna to the euro. In the past four years it has stepped in exclusively to counter appreciation pressures.