Analysts surveyed by Economica.net reveal expectations for an interest rate hike at the monetary board of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), possibly of 50 bp to 2.25%, perhaps accompanied by further widening of the interest rate corridor that would push up further the Lombard interest rate. "We expect the National Bank of Romania to increase the key interest rate from 1.75% to 2.25%. We also anticipate the widening of the corridor formed by the interest rates of permanent facilities around the monetary policy interest rate to +/- 1.00 pp, from +/- 0.75 pp now," said Valentin Tataru, chief economist of ING Bank. Adrian Codarlasu, vice president of CFA Romania Association, believes that Poland hiking the rate by 50 bp this week to 2.25% sets grounds for an increase in Romania's monetary policy interest rate by 0.5% as well, compared to the initial expectations for 0.25 bp hike expressed by the Association. He also warned that the headline inflation might hit 10% YoY in May-June, judging from the factory-gate inflation of 32% (in November) recently announced. Ionut Dumitru, Raiffeisen Bank's chief economist, points out that Raiffeisen Bank's forecast envisages a policy interest rate of up to 2.5% by mid-2022 and 3% by the end of 2022. "We expect the BNR to catch up with colleagues in Central and Eastern Europe and offer a key rate hike of 50 bp to 2.25% at the next January 10 interest rate meeting. The excess liquidity after high public spending at the end of the year should support such a decision. The BNR should remain a net debtor to the banking system for the next two months," he explained.
Investigation into the theft of Romanian archeological masterpieces from the Drents Museum continues roughly three months after the incident. Diederik Greive, chief officer of the Public Prosecutor's Office in the northern Netherlands, said authorities are actively pursuing leads, expressing confidence that the priceless artifact will be recovered,
Romania is facing a severe public health challenge as it reports 85% of all measles cases in the European Economic Area, according to data released by Monitorul Social, a project of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation Romania. The alarming figures highlight the country’s struggle with low vaccination coverage amid a regional surge in infections. Over...
The European Commission (EC) has approved a EUR 16 million increase in state aid for the rehabilitation of the district heating system of Bucharest, according to a press release from the Romanian Competition Council quoted by Economica.net. ...
Crin Antonescu, the ruling coalition's candidate in the presidential elections, stated in a Facebook post that the European Union must abandon the Green Deal in favor of a Smart Deal, which would allow access to cheaper energy, including for Romanians affected by current regulations. "I want cheap energy for Romanians. Through the Green Deal, the […]
Romania's main democratic opposition party, Save Romania Union (USR), issued on April 14 an official note stating that the National Bureau decided, unanimously by those present, to empower the party's Secretary-General Dominic Fritz to manage all contracts. The note followed the Bureau's decision last week to no longer support the presidential...
A Flashdata electoral poll carried out during April 10-12 and published by B1TV revealed that the far-right frontrunner candidate George Simion (Alliance for the Union of Romanians - AUR, 27% of the options expressed) leads at a thinner-than-anticipated margin....
