Albania's C-Bank Keeps Key Repo Rate Unchanged at 6.25%

Albania's consumer price index (CPI) in the third quarter of the year was kept in line the bank’s target of an average annual inflation of 3.0%, the central bank said in a statement issued late on Wednesday after a meeting of its supervisory board.

Albania's September CPI rose by 1.1% month-on-month, following a 0.6% monthly increase in August and a 0.6% monthly decrease in July. September CPI rose by 2.7% year-on-year, at the same rate as in August. July CPI was 3.7% higher on the year.

The country's annual inflation accelerated to 4.6% in March, the highest level in the past five years, mainly due to rise in food and oil prices.

Albania's central bank last changed its repo rate in November 2007, raising it by 0.25 percentage points. Last year the central bank raised the repo rate on three occasions, by 0.25 percentage point each time, in an effort to keep inflation in check.

Albania had an average annual inflation rate of 2.9% in 2007, slightly below the annual target of 3.0%.