July 13 (SeeNews) - North Macedonia's central bank said on Wednesday it decided to increase its policy rate by 0.50 percentage points (pp), to 2.50%, its fourth hike this year.
The interest rate rise is expected to spur the growth of bank deposits in the domestic currency denar, the central bank said in a press release.
The central bank added it took into account the continuously increasing inflation rate when taking the decision.
The average inflation in the country reached 10% in the January-June period, which is higher compared to the central bank's latest projections, it said.
In May, the country's central bank raised its average inflation forecast for 2022 to 8.8% from the previously expected 2.4%, reflecting the rising global prices of primary products and disruptions in global supply chains.
The central bank also decided to offer 10 billion denars ($163 million/162 million euro) worth of central bank bills at an auction on Wednesday, unchanged in comparison with the amount offered at the last auction held on June 15. The central bank's policy rate is the interest rate on the central bank bills.
Since the beginning of 2022, the central bank raised its key policy rate three times - in April, May and June.
(1 euro = 61.70 denars)