The base rate on the main monetary policy operations is increased by 0.9 percentage points to 6.5% per annum. The rates on overnight loans - 8.5% p.a., on repo operations - 6.75% p.a. and on overnight deposits - 4.5% p.a. were also set. The decision was approved today by the Executive Board of the National Bank of Moldova, IPN reports.
According to the NBM, several factors were behind the decision. Among them is the signing of the Letter of Intent between the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the European Commission on the granting of an extended support package to strengthen the country's resilience and energy independence. This support package is also aimed at mitigating the impact of electricity and gas tariff adjustments on consumer prices.
It is also about the need to temper the second-round effects caused by the December 2024 and January 2025 changes in regulated tariffs on inflation and anchor inflationary expectations with the aim of bringing the annual rate of the consumer price index back within the range of ±1.5 percentage points of the inflation target of 5% per year within a reasonable timeframe.
In order to optimally calibrate monetary policy measures and to ensure that inflation returns to the target range, the NBM states that it will prepare the medium-term inflation forecast, taking into account the details of the extended support package provided by the European Union.
Today's meeting also approved the first inflation report for this year, which will be presented on February 25, including an updated forecast.
