Central Bank maintains a 10.25% key interest rate

The Romanian Central Bank (BNR) decided on Tuesday to maintain the key interest rate at 10.25%, an official press release of the institution informs. However, the BNR board also decided to maintain the existing minimum obligatory reserves levels, for both RON and foreign currency deposits.

Analysts expected the maintaining of a 10.25% key interest rate, but also believed that the minimum obligatory reserves levels would decrease, in order to have a largest cash flow on the market. The minimum obligatory reserves level decreased, at the last board meeting, from 20 to 18%.

BNR also announced that it would continue to „adequately manage the cash in the banking system, through an active use of the monetary market operations”.

BNR increased the key interest rate, its main instrument against inflation, from 7% in October 2007 to 10.25% in 2005. The highest level was 12.5%, in August 2005.