Skopje, 12 September 2012

Press release of the NBRM

 On September 11, 2012, the Operational Monetary Policy Committee held its regular meeting at which the latest macroeconomic indicators, the liquidity of the banking system and the movements on international and domestic financial markets were reviewed.

On the international financial markets, the European Central Bank (ECB) has announced the possibility of recovering the program for purchase of government securities under which it would purchase securities issued by the peripheral countries. This announcement of the ECB contributed to the growth of stock markets in Europe, despite the fact that economic data showed that the GDP rate in the Euro area dropped by 0.2% in the second quarter. At the same time, an increased value of the Euro against the U.S. Dollar was reported. In terms of the situation in the United States, international financial markets expect that at the September meeting of the Federal Reserve System new unconventional monetary measures will be released.

The economic situation in the Euro area, which contributes to the relatively low foreign demand for domestic products, and the recent indicators of domestic demand, are still considered as primary risks to the domestic economy. The growth of world oil and food prices on the international financial markets and lower supply of domestic food products have led to an increase in the annual inflation rate from 2.3% in July, to 3.7% in August. According to these achievements, as well as in line with the uncertainty of the movements in import prices, further presence of risks regarding the inflation are expected, which are, however, expected to remain on a controlled level by the end of the year. No pressures on the exchange rate were registered on the foreign exchange market, i.e. since the beginning of the year, the gross foreign reserves have been maintained at a relatively stable and adequate level, providing sufficient space for the amortization of any adverse shocks.

Movements on the domestic financial markets are stable. The trend of increased activity in the longer maturities (between 7 and 30 days) on the money market, continues, and trading is registered also on the OTC markets with securities. The liquidity management in the banking system involves active use of the monetary instruments (CB bills, overnight deposit and credit standing facilities, seven-day deposits and repo auctions), which leads to retaining the excess liquidity in the banking system at a relatively low and stable level.

Taking into account the latest developments, the Operational Monetary Policy Committee found that the monetary policy stance is appropriate and kept the maximum interest rate on CB bills unchanged at the level of 3.75%. The amount of CB bills at the auction held on September 12, 2012 was Denar 26,760 million, which was at the level of the due amount (Denar 26,762 million). 

Governor's Office