Skopje, 1 February 2024 (MIA) - Changes in inflation and the foreign exchange market have been favorable so far. However, uncertainty remains, and inflation is still above the historical average. Therefore, the National Bank's monetary policy, in line with the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB), remains unchanged for the time being, National Bank Governor Anita Angelovska-Bezhoska said on Thursday.

In an interview with Bloomberg Adria, the Governor stressed that the future setting of the monetary policy in North Macedonia depends on inflation, inflation expectations, the foreign exchange market, as well as ECB's monetary policy, because the central bank is implementing strategies to maintain a stable exchange rate regarding the euro.

"If the current favorable trends are maintained, and certain risks omitted, it will leave room for a more flexible monetary policy," said Angelovska-Bezhoska.

Commenting on ECB's monetary policy and expectations, she said that ECB has kept the same basic interest rate on three occasions so far, but it also continued to reduce liquidity, thus preserving the prudent character of monetary policy.

"ECB has clearly announced that its decisions depend on inflation. Financial markets expect ECB to make the first reduction of interest rates in the second quarter of this year by almost 20 base points, or a total of almost 140 base points throughout the year. However, analysts expect a slower reaction from ECB," Angelovska-Bezhoska noted.

She pointed out that central banks make decisions based on variable data and information, and therefore the National Bank closely monitors macroeconomic and financial data, as well as other factors in terms of monetary policy. ssh/nn/

Photo: National Bank