The National Bank of Moldova forecasts an annual rate of inflation of 5.2% for 2017 and of 4.9% for 2018. The new figures are higher than the ones projected in the previous forecast round, but are within the interval of 5% ±1.5 percentage points stipulated in the Bank’s average-term monetary policy, IPN reports.

National Bank governor Sergiu Cioclea told a news conference that the annual rate of inflation in the fourth quarter of last year was 2.5%, down 2 percentage points compared with the third quarter. Last December, inflation was 2.4%. The annual rate of inflation diminished owing to the modest demand on the home market and the rich harvest in the agricultural sector. In December 2016, the annual rate of food price inflation stopped at 2.8%, while the prices of regulated services declined by 1.1% compared with December 2015.

According to the governor, the inflationist pressure persists, but there are also particular inflationist tendencies that come especially from abroad, but can change the situation at internal level. Fuel prices go up following the OPEC member states’ decision to reduce oil production and distribute quotas per country. The US dollar has appreciated. Worldwide, raw material prices increase, but Moldova imports most of the necessary raw material, especially for industry.

Official statistics show positive changes occur in Moldova, but these are slow and are mainly related to the rise in household consumption. The increase in oil prices will lead to a rise in gas and electricity tariffs. The supplying companies already made such approaches to the national energy regulator. Food prices could also go up.

The annual rate of inflation in Moldova in 2016 was 2.4%, as opposed to 13.6% in 2015.