EBRD positively assesses CBA’s struggle against inflation

PanARMENIAN.Net - Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Erik Berglof believes that the growth in inflation rate in Armenia is a temporary phenomenon.

“The measures taken by the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) are correct ones,” Berglof told a press conference in Yerevan on March 9.

He added that many countries of the region, where EBRD operates, have also faced the problem of high inflation rate.

At the same time Berglof noted in his 2010 Transition Report that the high inflation rate is a result of unstable macroeconomic situation in the country.

1.9% inflation rate was recorded in Armenia in February compared to January 2011. According to the CBA forecasts, the inflation rate will reach 10% in the first half of 2011 in the country, after which it will start decreasing.

To tackle the inflation, the CBA Board decided on March 4 to increase the refinancing rate by 0.5% to bring it to 8.25%.