BUCHAREST: Romania’s central bank cut its inflation forecast for this year to 0.6 percent from previous 1.4 percent, driven largely by lower energy prices, central bank Governor Mugur Isarescu said on Tuesday. Isarescu said inflation would reach 2.7 percent at the end of next year, from a previous forecast of 3.4 percent. The bank, which kept its benchmark rate on hold at a record low of 1.75 percent last week, targets inflation at 1.5-3.5 percent.
Isarescu told a news conference that external price developments as well as the impact of a new mortgage bill also pushed the forecasts down but inflationary pressures were building in the background.