MINSK, 31 July (BelTA) – The National Bank of the Republic of Belarus expects the growth of prices to slow down and believes it is feasible to hit this year's 5% inflation target. Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB) Sergei Kalechits made the statement in an interview with the Respublika newspaper, BelTA has learned.
The official said that at present inflation is slightly above this year's target. In June consumer prices rose by 5.2% year on year. Meanwhile, this increase reflects the impact of the price spike registered early this year, including due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Sergei Kalechits, the intensity of inflation processes is going down thanks to a number of factors. Temporary pro-inflation factors of Q1 2020 are going away. The timely measures implemented by the government in response to a surge of prices for individual products due to buoyant demand are starting to have an effect. “We feel considerable disinflation influence on the part of the weak foreign and domestic demand. And it will stay in place at least until the global economy and the Belarusian one have managed to overcome consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. The combination of these factors speaks in favor of slower price growth and makes it quite possible to hit the 5% inflation target in 2020,” Sergei Kalechits said.
