Energy prices continue to fuel inflation around the world, and some decline in it is likely to be noticeable at the end of the second quarter, Adrian Vasilescu, strategy consultant at the National Bank of Romania (BNR) told AGERPRES on Wednesday.
Asked what we could expect, the BNR official replied that inflation will probably get a little lower at the end of the second quarter, and also at the end of the third quarter, but there are no expectations, neither in Romania nor elsewhere in the European Union, of inflation returning to the two-percent target before the end of 2023.
Vasilescu added that "given the picture, the National Bank resorted to a drastic move yesterday and increased its monetary policy rate."
According to him, energy prices cannot be defeated by any monetary policy, but the influences of these prices on the overall picture "can be hit by monetary policy".