OREANDA-NEWS. The National Bank of Belarus (NBB) has announced a move to reduce the refinancing rate by 1.5 percentage points to 27% per annum on April 17, 2013.

As inflation growth slows down in the context of a stable foreign trade surplus, the NBB finds it possible to further reduce the refinancing rate.

In March the Consumer Price Index reduced by 1.1%, while the level of the core inflation totalled 0.6%, which creates the prerequisites for high interest rates on the financial market, the NBB said.

Although the refinancing rate has been reduced, savings in Belarusian rubles are still attractive and more profitable than deposits in foreign currency, the NBRB said.

As previously reported, the NBB finds it within its reach to push the refinancing rate down to 13-15% per annum by the end of 2013.

Belarus’ key rate was last adjusted on September 12, 2012, and now stands at 30% per annum. All in all, the refinancing rate was adjusted eight times in 2012.

At the same time, in accordance with the monetary management guidelines for 2012, the refinancing rate should have gone down to 20-23% by late 2012.

All in all, in 2011 Belarus raised the refinancing rate 12 times from 10.5% to 45% per annum.