The Executive Board of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) on September 13 decided to maintain unchanged the values of the main monetary regulation instruments. This way, the base rate applied to the main short-term monetary policy operations was maintained at the level of 21.5 percent annually. The interest rates on overnight loans and deposits remained unchanged at 23.5 percent and 19.5 percent, respectively, IPN reports.

 “The Executive Board’s decision comes in the context of the restrictive monetary policy decisions taken earlier, whose effects will continue having an impact during a longer period of time given the discrepancy in their diffusion,” NBM governor Octavian Armașu told a news conference.

The slowdown in annual inflation confirms the effects of the previous measures, the monthly growth being below a percentage point. “This way, today’s decision is aimed at further tempering the increase in consumer prices, alleviating the secondary effects of the supply shocks, stimulating financial intermediation in the national currency and saving to the detriment of consumption. It is also designed to steady the trade balance and to anchor inflation expectations,” explained the governor.

Octavian Armașu noted that to attenuate the pressure on the balance of trade during the cold period of the year, generated by the high import prices of energy resources, the NBM considers it reasonable to rationalize the population’s consumption and to efficiently manage business entities’ stores.

According to the governor, the central bank will relax the monetary policy so as to direct the inflation towards the target when the future projections show relevant preconditions.