The slight growth of Moldova’s GDP in 2023, amounting to 0.7%, may be due, among other things, to the deep disinflationary process in the country - Anca Dragu.
The President of the National Bank of Moldova expressed this opinion when answering a question from journalists on Thursday after presenting the decision of the NBM Executive Committee on monetary policy. Commenting on the fact that in neighboring Ukraine, where there is a war, GDP grew by 5%, and in Romania by 2%, she noted that the economies of the countries are different and they are going through different moments. “We see a deeply disinflationary process in Moldova, and its secondary effects have had an impact on the country’s economy,” said the head of the National Bank. At the same time, answering a question from the InfoMarket agency, Anca Dragu noted that the National Bank in its main scenario does not assume a tendency for annual inflation to decrease to a level below 3.5%. But the NBM is constantly monitoring and, if necessary, will present new figures and forecasts. Answering a question about the National Bank's proposals to reduce excess liquidity in the country, she emphasized that the NBM is using all the tools at its disposal to ensure that excess liquidity in the market does not have negative effects on interest rates, inflation and the exchange rate. According to her, the government's tools are also limited. Therefore, we need to look at broader measures that will lead to better functioning of all segments of the financial market. Anca Dragu believes that the situation will normalize in the medium term. The head of the National Bank, answering questions, said that she had held discussions with the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Vladimir Bolea, with representatives of banks, and the Association of Banks of Moldova on the problems of loans for farmers. The opinion of each of the parties was analyzed: the banking sector, loan recipients, and the government. Anca Dragu emphasized that the NBM does not see any obstacles to the successful functioning of the new scheme of assistance to farmers proposed by the authorities, with the guarantees provided by the government, and this should help farmers and make lending more flexible. According to her, discussions on this topic will be continued later. // 21.03.2024 — InfoMarket
