Central Bank director general on Azerbaijan's national monetary policy

Taking into account the ongoing economic processes in the real sector of Azerbaijan's economy, the situation in the banking sector, as well as economic forecasts, the country's Central Bank (CBA) has considered it reasonable to maintain the current discount rate, the CBA Director General Khagani Abdullayev said.

"The CBA closely watches the ongoing processes in the country's economy. We conduct a fundamental analysis of all factors impacting inflation level, at the same time at we take into account the situation in the real sector," Abdullayev said.  Based on analysis of all these studies, the CBA has determined that there is no need for a toughening monetary policy, he added.

"We also don't moderate it, we keep it in a neutral level. After the third quarter ends, we will analyze the macroeconomic situation, total demand and inflation level. But our decision depends on the economic situation, inflation and economic expectations," he said.   According to him, the CBA's primary forecasts show that the growth of inflation can have an impact not on internal, but on external factors.

"A shock was observed on foreign markets, and this may have an impact on inflation in the country. The current inflation rate is about five percent, and as of late 2010 annual average inflation is forecasted at 5-6 percent," Abdullayev said. 

According to the State Statistics Committee, prices for consumer goods and tariffs for services in July 2010 dropped by at 0.2 percent compared to the previous month, and in January-July increased by 4.9 percent compared to the same period of 2009.


/Trend/