October 3 (SeeNews) - Romania's central bank, BNR, said on Tuesday it maintained its monetary policy rate at record low 1.75% - in line with analysts' expectations.
BNR's board also decided to narrow the corridor of interest rates on its standing facilities around the policy rate to ±1.25 percentage points from ±1.50 percentage points, it said in a statement.
"Thus, starting October 4 2017, the deposit facility rate rises to 0.50% per year, while the interest rate on the BNR’s lending facility is lowered to an annual 3%," the central bank said.
BNR last changed its monetary policy rate in May 2015, when it cut it by 25 basis points to 1.75%.
Romania's annual consumer price inflation slowed down to 1.2% in August, from 1.4% in July.
In its latest inflation report issued in August, BNR increased its annual inflation forecasts for this year and next, to 1.9% and 3.2%, respectively, from the previous 1.6% and 3.1%.
"The revision is largely attributed to domestic inflationary pressures, which are associated with the build-up of a stronger-than-previously expected excess demand throughout the forecast horizon," BNR said in the report.
(1 euro =4.5860 lei)