BELGRADE (Serbia), September 24 (SeeNews) – Serbian central bank expects 6.0% inflation next year with a variation band of two percentage points on either side provided government-controlled prices will grow by 11% with the same variation band, local media reported.
The central bank has earlier agreed with the government that inflation in 2010 will be 8.0% plus or minus two percentage points on either side, news provider EMportal (www.emportal) quoted central bank governor Radovan Jelasic as saying late on Wednesday.
Serbia is not going to need the entire 2.9 billion euro ($4.3 billion) stand-by loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the current deficit in the country's balance of payments will be halved, Jelasic said without elaborating.
An IMF mission is scheduled to arrive in Belgrade next month for the third review of the country's performance under the two-year funding arrangement signed in March. The disbursement of the second and the third tranches of the loan facility worth a combined 1.4 billion euro, hinge on the results third review.
($=0.6768 euro)