BNR:Annual inflation rate could rise above upper limit of target range in second half of year

The annual inflation rate is expected to rise visibly above the upper limit of the target range in the second half of this year, to 4.1% in December 2021, compared to the previous forecast's 3.4%, according to the minutes of the monetary policy meeting of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) Board of Directors on May 12, 2021. "With regard to future macroeconomic developments, Council members discussed at length the new anticipated inflation pattern, showing that it is significantly higher in the short term than in the previous projection, and to a lesser extent as regards the second segment of the projection horizon. Thus, the annual inflation rate is expected to rise visibly above the upper limit of the target range in the second half of this year, to 4.1% in December 2021, compared to the previous forecast's 3.4%, expected to recover at the beginning of next year, but to subsequently remain in the upper half of the interval - close to the level of 3.0% -, slightly above the value of 2.8% previously anticipated for December 2022," the BNR minutes maintain.AGERPRES(RO - author: George Banciulea, editor: Mariana Nica; EN - author: Simona Iacob, editor: Maria Voican))