November 9 (SeeNews) - Serbia's central bank, NBS, said on Thursday it will keep its key repo rate unchanged at 3.5%.
"In making this decision, the Executive Board was guided by the new, November inflation projection and the movement in its key factors, the expected effects of past monetary policy easing, better economic performance in the third quarter and improved outlook," the central bank said in a statement.
The inflation rate will remain within the target band of 1.5%-4.5% in the short term. Inflationary pressures remain low, as indicated by the slowdown in headline and core inflation over the past months, as well as the inflation expectations of the financial and corporate sectors, anchored within the target band, NBS noted.
The effects of drought on food prices were weaker than expected, lower import prices also impacted the inflation slowdown. Furthermore, since early 2017, fiscal trends have been much more favourable than estimated, the bank said.
Serbia's annual consumer price inflation quickened to 3.2% in September from 2.5% in August, according to the latest official data available. On a month-on-month basis, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.1% in September after increasing 0.2% in August.
The one-off effects of the hikes in the prices of certain products and services will disappear as of early 2018, dragging inflation below the current level. On the other hand, a gradual increase in the global prices of primary agricultural commodities and demand in Serbia will support inflation, NBS noted.
The central bank cut the repo rate by 0.25 of a percentage point to 3.75% in September and lowere it further to 3.5% in October to help guide inflation to the target band.
The NBS will hold its next rate-setting meeting on December 7.