Central Bank Rate Hikes in Moldova and Norway
May 7, 2026
In Moldova where CPI inflation rose to 5.8% in March from 4.9% two months earlier, officials felt that they could not merely wait and see as many other monetary authorities are doing. A 150-basis point interest rate hike to 6.5% at the National Bank of Moldova today restores the peak level of restraint that had existed over the six months ending last August.
Bank of Norway officials also veered from the wait-and-see approach, surprising analysts who’d predicted no change with a 25-basis point interest rate hike to 4.25%. That was the first increase since the final month of 2023, but there had been only two subsequent cuts of 25-basis points, most recently in September 2025. Norwegian CPI inflation of 3.6% is above target, and “there are prospects that inflation will remain elevated ahead. High inflation over time can lead firms and households to plan for persistently high inflation. It may then become more difficult to bring inflation down again. The Committee judges that a higher policy rate is needed to return inflation to target within a reasonable time horizon.” That said, officials are projecting no more than one more 25-bp hike this year.
Copyright 2026, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved.
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