Albania’s central bank has decided to keep its policy rate at 3 percent, it announced on Wednesday.
Governor of the Bank of Albania (BoA) Gent Sejko said at a press conference that the Albanian economy is expected to continue growing during the next quarters. This prediction comes despite a slight slowdown as a result of the economic slowdown in the Eurozone, and tighter financing conditions both nationally and globally.
“Based on current trends and their supporting factors, the Albanian economy is expected to continue growing in the coming years, while inflation is expected to return to the target during the middle of next year,” Sejko said.
The BoA Supervisory Council said in its monetary policy report for this trimester that the current stance is “suitable for promoting economic growth and keeping inflation under control.”
It has therefore decided to keep the basic interest rate unchanged, at the level of 3 percent. The one-day loan interest rate will be unchanged at 4 percent, and the one-day deposit interest rate unchanged at 2 percent.
The country’s economy grew by an annual 2.7 percent in the first quarter of 2023, after increasing by 4.73 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The central bank raised its policy rate five times in 2022 – in March, July, August, October and November. This year, it has raised the rate once so far, in March.
