May 17 (SeeNews) - Romania's central bank said on Monday it is raising its annual inflation forecast for 2019 to 4.2% from 3%, outside its target band of 1.5-3.5%.
The central bank, BNR, also said in its May inflation report it has increased its 2020 inflation forecast by 0.2 percentage points to 3.3%.
"The main excesses that lead to this change in the inflation forecast come from rising oil prices, tobacco as well as from volatility in fruit and vegetables prices," BNR governor Mugur Isarescu said in a presentation of the report.
According to BNR, the annual inflation rate will continue to be higher than the target range over the entire year 2019, amid supply-side shocks in the first half of this year.
Subsequently, it will re-position and maintained itself in the upper half of the target range as effects of this shocks will fade away and inflationary pressures on base inflation will continue to persist.
Romania's annual consumer price inflation accelerated to 4.1% in April, from 4% in the previous month, according to the most recent data published by the office of national statistics.
On May 15, BNR maintained its monetary policy rate at 2.50%.
The central bank last changed its key rate in May last year increasing it to 2.50% from 2.25%, the third rate hike in 2018.
(1 euro=4.7621 lei)