Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 7
By Ilkin Shafiyev – Trend:
Inflation rate in Azerbaijan will remain below the target index until the end of 2018, according to the forecasts of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA), Chairman of the CBA Elman Rustamov said.
He made the remarks at the Azerbaijan Competitiveness Forum held Sept. 7.
He said that during the first seven months of this year, the average annual inflation in Azerbaijan was 2.8 percent.
“The macroeconomic stability that has been forming in Azerbaijan since 2017 continues in 2018 as well,” Rustamov said. “Inflationary risks related to both fiscal policy and external factor limit our ability to mitigate monetary policy.”
During the last meeting of the Board of the CBA, the discount rate (10 percent), the cap of the interest rate collar (12 percent) and the floor of the interest rate collar (8 percent) remained unchanged.
“In general, this year the discount rate of the CBA decreased from 15 to 10 percent, and the parameters of the interest rate collar were optimized,” Rustamov said.
He added that the current account surplus of Azerbaijan’s balance of payments for the first six months of this year was 16 percent of GDP.
“This led to the balance of the currency market, and Azerbaijan’s strategic currency reserves increased,” he said. “We expect surplus in the balance of payments until the end of the year, and strategic currency reserves will grow even more.”
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