The required reserves ratio formed at the expense of funds attracted in MDL and in convertible foreign currency remains at the current level – 18% and 26%, respectively, of the calculation base.
The official communication of the NBM provides arguments for the measures taken, although the annual inflation remains within the allowed limits. The reasons are external factors:
“There is a need to adjust the monetary policy in such a way as to mitigate the pressure on the inflationary process in the context of intensifying consequences of the conflict in the Middle East, which is reflected in the growth of international prices for energy, food and raw materials and their impact on the forecasting of regional economic activity, as well as – on the monetary and fiscal policies pursued by the leading economies,” the NBM message says.
Upward trend of inflation
For the entire first quarter of 2026, the annual inflation rate stood at 5.24%, slightly above the NBM’s forecast, but in March, annual inflation stood at 5.81%, which was already 0.75 p.p. higher than the previous month.
The central bank will not be able to prevent the import of inflation, but to mitigate its consequences, the regulator believes: “the annual inflation rate in the following months of 2026 will exceed the upper limit of the deviation corridor of ±1.5 percentage points from the inflation target of 5%”, but this measure will successfully combat “inflationary pressures, secondary effects of supply shocks and stabilization of inflation expectations in order to return the annual level of consumer prices within the acceptable range of inflation”, the NBM believes.
The National Bank “will continue to monitor with caution the internal and external macroeconomic situation and the risks related to the development of inflation in the short and medium term”, expressing its willingness to use all the instruments at its disposal to support price stability.
