May 5 (SeeNews) - Moldova's central bank decided to raise its policy rate to 15.5% from 12.5% in order to temper the rise in consumer prices and to mitigate risks stemming from the war in Ukraine, it said on Thursday.
Interest rates on overnight loans and deposits will increase by 3 percentage points - to 17.5% and 13.5% per annum, respectively, the central bank, BNM, said in a press release.
This is the highest level of the key rate in six years, data posted on the BNM's website showed. During September 2015-January 2016, the rate stood at 19.5%.
The decision was based on a new inflation forecast, which comes in the context of the effects of the pandemic crisis and the war in Ukraine, with a severe impact on the socio-economic situation in Moldova.
According to BNM, inflationary processes are based on rising international prices for energy and food, as well as to specific problems related to Moldova's dependence of local supply chains on Ukrainian economic agents.
Moldova's consumer prices rose 22.16% year-on-year in March, accelerating from an 18.52% increase in the previous month, the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
The central bank's executive board will hold its next monetary policy meeting on June 14.
(1 euro = 19.6842 Moldovan lei)