Annual inflation continued the upward trajectory started in the second half of 2024, the central bank said. Thus, the annual inflation rate in December was 6.97%, by 1.54 percentage points higher compared to the previous month. It thus crossed the upper limit of the variation corridor of ±1.5 percentage points from the 5% target, IPN reports.

The National Bank of Moldova noted that the average annual inflation rate in the fourth quarter of last year was 5.9%, up 0.9 percentage points against the previous quarter.

According to the central bank, the evolution of the annual inflation rate in the fourth quarter was influenced by adverse sectoral developments, including the dynamics of regulated prices and the dry conditions the previous summer. At the same time, the moderate domestic demand continued to have a disinflationary impact on the annual inflation rate over the reference period.

For the subsequent calibration of the monetary policy measures, optimal for the return of inflation within the set variation corridor, the National Bank of Moldova will make a medium-term inflation forecast, taking into account the details of the broader support package provided by the European Union. The inflation report for February 2025 will be published on February 25.