The Bank of Albania announces another increase in the basic interest rate, Governor Gent Sejko explains the reasons

The Bank of Albania is moving towards another increase in the basic interest rate. Governor Gent Sejko guarantees that this will not cause a recession, while emphasizing the objective of maintaining price stability in this delicate situation of the global economy. The Governor of the Bank of Albania, Gent Sejko, warns the further increase of the basic interest rate, in order to maintain economic stability, in the conditions of high inflation caused by the War in Ukraine. He guaranteed that this increase would not lead to a review, as he emphasized once again that the priority is to maintain price stability. "More importantly, our projections, which benefit from the same models and research analysis, suggest that the current round of increases in the basic interest rate will not lead the economy to review. The Albanian economy will continue to grow in the medium term. In this regard, the current increase in the base interest rate, which aims to maintain price stability and anchor inflation expectations, is at the same time a measure to protect not only the economy, but also the private sector and individuals from the negative effects of his. This is especially true and important for the low-income strata of the population, which have been hit more by the negative effects of high and stable inflation," said Sejko. Sejko made his position public in an event organized with the Swiss government, where some of the findings of the research carried out by the Bank of Albania for the drafting of new monetary policies were presented. During 2022, the Bank of Albania has increased the basic interest rate five times, bringing it to the level of 2.75%, from 2.25% that was decided on November 2, 2022, as the next meeting of the Supervisory Council is expected for the month of December. In October, inflation was at a record 8.3%.