August 5 (SeeNews) - Albania's central bank decided to hold its key interest rate unchanged at 0.5% as it sees the current monetary policy stance as adequate for boosting economic recovery and for the stable return of inflation to target, central bank governor Gent Sejko said.
The central bank also decided to hold the interest rate on the overnight deposit facility at 0.1%, and the rate on the overnight lending facility at 0.9%, Sejko said in a statement on Wednesday.
Albania's economy has been recovering in the last quarters and the economic outlook has been improving, while the downside risks have been declining. However, inflation continues to undershoot the target and was subject to frequent and unexpected fluctuations in the last quarter, the governor said.
Additionally, the accommodative stimulus will serve to strengthen the economic growth stability and increase employment and wages, the statement reads.
Albania's central bank cut its policy rate to record low 0.5% from 1.0% in March 2020, aiming to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the country's economic and financial health. The interest rate corridor of the interbank money market was also revised - to 0.9% from 1.9%.