Central Bank Interest Rate Hike in Belarus
April 14, 2021
Accelerating inflation was uppermost on the minds of policymakers at the National Bank of Belarus, who today announced a 75-basis point hike in their refinancing rate to 8.5%. During the first half of 2020, the rate had been cut 25 basis points in Jranuary, 75 bps in May and 25 bps in June to a record low of 7.75%, and today’s move was the first increase since early 2015. Inflation is currently 3.5 percentage points above the central bank’s medium-term target. Unlike last year, more central banks have raised than lowered interest rates in 2021, but the list is still pretty small, including besides Belarus Ukraine, Zambia, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan.
Copyright 2021, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
Tags: National Bank of Belarus
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