7 Dec 2011 09:32

Belarusian central bank to raise refinancing rate to 45% Dec 12

MINSK. Dec 7 (Interfax) - The National Bank of Belarus will raise its refinancing rate to 45% from 40% on December 12, the bank's information department told Interfax, citing a decision made by the central bank's management board on Tuesday.

The National Bank last raised its refinancing rate on November 11 to 40% from 35%, which was the eleventh increase this year. The rate has increased by a total of 29.5 percentage points in 2011.

Raising the refinancing rate to a level that provides a positive real return, taking into account inflation, is one of Minsk's obligations to the EurAsEC Anticrisis Fund in order to receive a second loan tranche of $445 million. The Fund's board decided at the end of November to release this tranche in December.