April 15, Minsk / Anna Kot - BELTA/. The refinancing rate in Belarus will be reduced by 1.5 percentage points to 27% per annum from April 17. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the Information and Public Relations Department of the National Bank.
The corresponding decision was made by the Board of the National Bank and is enshrined in Resolution No. 225 of April 12, 2013.
"The actual and expected further slowdown of inflation processes against the backdrop of a positive balance of foreign trade in goods and services and a stable situation in the domestic foreign exchange market have made it possible to continue the gradual reduction of the refinancing rate," the National Bank explained.
In March 2013, the growth of consumer prices decreased to 1.1%, while core inflation was 0.6%, which determines a sufficiently high positive level of real interest rates in the economy.
"Despite the reduction in the nominal level of interest rates, the yield on ruble savings will continue to provide both reliable protection against inflation and exceed the yield on deposits in foreign currency," the National Bank added.
The refinancing rate was last reduced on March 13, also by 1.5 percentage points, from 30% per annum to 28.5% per annum. Before that, the rate had not changed for six months.
It is planned to reduce the refinancing rate to 13-15% per annum in 2013. At the same time, as National Bank representatives have repeatedly stated, the dynamics of the refinancing rate will depend on the macroeconomic situation, primarily in foreign trade and on the foreign exchange market, as well as on the level of actual inflation. Inflation in Belarus for the first three months of the current year amounted to 5.4% (1.1% in March) with a forecast for 2013 of no more than 12%.-0-