National Bank of Moldova increases basic rate for principal monetary policy operations

Chisinau, 10 January /MOLDPRES/ - The basic rate enforced for the principal short-term monetary policy operations has been established at 5.6 per cent annually, against 3.6 per cent earlier. The decision was taken today, by unanimous vote, by the executive committee of the National Bank of Moldova (BNM).   

At the same time, the rate of interest on the overnight loans was set at 7.6 per cent annually, against 5.6 per cent earlier, on the overnight deposits – 3.6 per cent annually, against 1.6 per cent earlier and on repo operations – 5.85 per cent, against 3.85 per cent.   

The decision was taken at an unplanned meeting, the summoning of which resulted from the need of configuring the monetary policy, in order to attenuate the pressures on the inflationist process, in the context of the latest increase in tariffs, BNM said.  

„The analysis and evaluation of the recent macroeconomic information related to the external and internal environment stayed at the basis of the decision, especially the perspectives of speeding up of the inflation against the background of the increase in the internal tariffs for the gas in the network, thermal and electric energy, adjusted in December 2024 and January 2025. The pronounced increase in prices for energy resources will generate additional inflationist pressures for the inflationist process, from the perspective of the production costs and prices, as well as of the inflationist anticipations on behalf of the households and economic agents,’’ BNM said.       

The institution stressed that the adjusting of the forecast of the short- and medium-term inflation boosts the certainty that the annual inflation rate will be maintained above the higher limit of the variation corridor of ±1.5 percentage points from the target inflation of 5 per cent annually during several quarters of the 2025 year.   

„Thus, the increase in the basic rate is aimed at tempering the secondary effects from the change of the regulated tariffs on the inflation and the anchoring of the inflationist expectations, in order to reduce the annual rate of the consumption prices in the variation corridor from the inflation target in a reasonable term,’’ BNM said.     

The next meeting of the BNM’s executive committee on the promotion of the monetary policy will take place on 5 February 2025.