Head of the Monetary Policy Department at the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Arthur Stepanyan said that the CBA cannot have an impact on external supply shocks, of what the Armenian population is always informed.

“Besides, we always report on actions taken by the bank so that controllable inflation remains one of the basic macroeconomic achievements in our country,” Stepanyan told a press conference in Yerevan.

He added that actions similar to those in 2010 will be taken in 2011 to prevent high inflation rate - the monetary policy toughening and dedollarization events.

Besides, Stepanyan noted that the 12-month inflation rate will make 9.5% in the first half of 2011, but the expected increase in gas prices in April is not taken into consideration in this index, as nobody made an official statement with respect growth in tariffs.

Under the 2011 state budget, the inflation rate is envisaged to make 4±1,5%.