Central Bank maintains key interest rate at 10%

The board of the Romanian Central Bank (BNR) decided on Tuesday, during its first monetary policy meeting since negotiations begun with the International Monetary Fund, to maintain the key interest level at 10%. BNR also decided to reduce the minimum obligatory reserves for commercial banks to from 40 to 0%, for debts in convertible currencies with falling terms within two years.

The minimum reserve level for debts in RON will keep their current level.

Before the meeting, analysts estimated that BNR will maintain both the key interest level and the minimum obligatory reserves level. The BNR governor, Mugur Isarescu, declared last week that the minimum obligatory reserves level will decrease „extremely gradually”.

In February, the key interest rate decreased 0.25%, at 10%.