OREANDA-NEWS. The National Bank of Belarus (NBB) has ruled to keep the refinancing rate unchanged for five months in row, the bank said in a statement.

The key rate was last adjusted in the middle of July 2013, when it was reduced by 1.5 percentage points to 23.5% per annum.

In November the refinancing rate will stay at 23.5% per annum, the NBB said.

The rise in consumer prices in the past two months has exceeded the forecasts (1.7% in September, 1.9% in October). With this, annual inflation slowed down from 21.8% in December 2012 to 15.5% in October 2013.

“Despite the increase in national currency deposits in October 2013, their growth remains unstable. Under these conditions the current refinancing rate will secure profitability of national currency deposits that considerably surpasses the profitability of deposits in foreign currency, and promote stability on the domestic currency market,” the NBB said.