Governor blames currency decline on "debts and Ukraine"

(Tanjug, file)

Governor blames currency decline on "debts and Ukraine"

BELGRADE -- National Bank of Serbia (NBS) Governor Jorgovanka Tabaković is "not worried" about the national currency reaching a historic low agaisnt the euro.

One euro was worth RSD 116.74 on Thursday, according to the mean exchange rate.

The reason for this was "a bad state of Serbia’s public finances and the Ukraine crisis," Tabaković told the Belgrade-based tabloid Kurir.

“The current fluctuations are primarily a consequence of an increased uncertainty both locally (pace of consolidation of public finances in Serbia) and internationally (geopolitical situation concerning Ukraine),” she said.

The governor noted that the current volatility of the local currency was nothing serious and she expected no inflationary pressures or negative impact on the standard of living of citizens.

“Inflation is currently at its lowest in the last 50 years and every indicator shows that it will continue to be low and stable in the future. The standard of living is undoubtedly low, but the cause is not inflation, but rather the particularly difficult economic situation and high unemployment,” said Tabaković.

The Serbian dinar managed to recover from yesterday's fall, rising by 0.1 percent, or 11 para, and setting the official middle exchange rate at RSD 116.6372 for one euro on Friday.

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