PM Greceanyi confident in robust Moldovan economic growth

“The macroeconomic situation in Moldova is stable and the development of the key indicators inspire confidence that we will be able to further ensure favorable conditions for a robust economic growth”, stated Prime Minister Zinaida on Monday at a conference addressing the Government's performance in the first six months of her term in office, Info-Prim Neo reports. Greceanyi said all the efforts were focused on reducing the rate of inflation. “By May we saw that the target of keeping inflation below ten percent could be compromised. Then we decided to take a range of budgetary, fiscal and monetary measures aimed at keeping prices down. We reduced some public expenditures and employed a series of sometimes unpopular monetary measures. The were also a great deal of comments from critics, which loom as the elections approach. But our actions proved beneficial after all, as the consumer price index started to improve”, the premier said. “Despite gas and electricity price hikes in August, the consumer price index came back to a controllable level, and this gives us hope that we will be able to ensure one-digit inflation by the end of the year”, she added. Greceanyi said that the situation started to look up as the National Bank reduced reserve requirements and decreased its refinancing rate by 1.5 percentage point, making loans cheaper for the so-called 'real sector' of the economy. Though the effects of last year's drought are still felt, GDP rose in the second quarter by 6.2 percent and there are hopes for better results by the end of the year, says the premier. According to her, this achievement allowed the Government to raise salaries for certain public sector employees from October 1. “When our team started working, we said that we couldn't consume more than we produced. If we manage to consolidate our progress, new raises will follow; but they should be generated by economic growth, which we shall obtain”, Greceanyi stated.