January 20 (SeeNews) - North Macedonia's central bank said on Thursday it has decided to leave its policy rate unchanged at the historically lowest level of 1.25%, but cautioned that the current macroeconomic factors and the monetary stance point to the need for careful monitoring.
The Operational Monetary Policy Committee of the central bank concluded that all macroeconomic indicators are moving in line with expectations, but uncertainty and risks related to the further course of the pandemic and its effects remain, the central bank said in a statement.
North Macedonia's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 3% on the year in the third quarter of 2021, which indicates that the country's economy continues to recover, the central bank said, adding that the average annual inflation was 3.2% last year, slightly higher than the central bank's projection of 3.1%.
The central bank also decided to offer 10 billion denars ($184.4 million/162.6 million euro) worth of central bank bills at an auction on Thursday, unchanged in comparison with the amount offered at the last auction held on December 15. The central bank's policy rate is the interest rate on the central bank bills.
The central bank last changed its policy rate in March 2021, cutting it by 0.25 percentage points.
(1 euro = 61.49 denars)