Moldova Central Bank Holds Interest Rates For Third Month

(RTTNews) - Moldova's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged for the third consecutive month in July.

The board decided to maintain the base rate at 3.5 percent, the National Bank of Moldova said on Thursday. In April, the bank had slashed the rate by 100 basis points from 4.5 percent.

The interest rate on overnight loans was held at 6.5 percent, while the rate on overnight deposits was maintained at 0.5 percent.

The reserve requirement on liabilities in both Moldovan leu and foreign currency was held at 14 percent.

The country's inflation eased to 5.5 percent in June from 5.7 percent in May. The rate has held within the central bank's target range of 1.5 percentage points above or below 5 percent for the last 17 months.

Meanwhile, core inflation rose to 4.4 percent in June from 4.2 percent in the previous month.

The Moldovan economy grew 3.5 percent in the first quarter after a contraction in 2012. It is too early to determine whether the economic recovery is sustainable, the bank said.