The Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) decided on Wednesday to maintain the monetary policy interest rate at the level of 7% per year, informs the central bank.

The last key rate hike came earlier this year in January, when the central bank raised the interest rate to 7% per annum from 6.75% per annum previously.

According to the press release of the central bank, the annual inflation rate decreased significantly in March 2023, dropping to 14.53%, from 15.52% in February, mainly on the background of lower fuel prices compared to the same period last year

The BNR mentions that, for the first three months of the year as a whole, the annual rate of inflation thus decreased considerably (from 16.37% in December 2022), recording the first decrease in the last 9 quarters, as anticipated. The decrease was mainly determined by the large decrease in fuel and electricity price dynamics, under the influence of consistent base effects and the change starting January 1, 2023 of the characteristics of the capping and compensation scheme for energy prices, according to Agerpres.

The annual inflation rate calculated on the basis of the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP – inflation indicator for EU member states) decreased to 12.1% in March 2023, from 14.1% in December 2022. The average annual inflation rate The CPI and the one calculated on the basis of the HIPC, however, continued to increase in the first quarter of 2023, up to 15.3% and 13.2% in March, from 13.8% and 12.0% respectively in December 2022, still remaining at lower values than those prevailing in the region and in the Baltic States.