National Bank of Georgia keeps refinancing rate unchanged at 6.5%

The National Bank of Georgia will keep its monetary policy rate unchanged at 6.5 percent.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank met today and decided not to change the current refinancing rate.

During the next two quarters NBG will decrease the monetary policy rate to six percent, announced the Bank in a statement this afternoon.

NBG explained any future decisions regarding the monetary policy would be based on the country’s macroeconomic and inflation forecast.

Georgia started to move away from its tightened monetary policy, set by the NBG in February 2014 – the time when the national currency (Lari/GEL) started to fall against the United States (US) dollar and the Euro.

Following advice from the Monetary Policy Committee on July 27, NBG decreased its refinancing rate by 25 basis points to 6.75 percent.

In September NBG decreased its refinancing rate again by 25 basis points. With this change the Bank’s refinancing rate stood at 6.5 percent.

The next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee will be held on December 14, 2016.