The Fourth International Conference in Economics and Finance

The Fourth International Conference in Economics and Finance

The growth rate of inflation in the 1st quarter of 2014 amounted to 6.6% and made plans for reaching the official targets for annual inflation highly unlikely. Despite this, a gradual reduction in refinancing rates with a second round of cuts has been preserved. It was also accompanied fixing the maximum rate of ruble loans at a rate of 39.4% for companies.

This April the National Bank decided to its reduce refinancing rate, which has remained unchanged for the past 10-months. This measure is, to some degree, a helping hand for the real sector that is facing significant difficulties at present. However, despite their best intentions, this move may actually lead to serious imbalances and create additional pressure on the national currency.

Economic performance during first two months of 2014 has been rather disappointing. First, almost all industries reduced their output which led to a decline in GDP by 1.6% year-on-year in January-February.  Second, Belarus has faced new challenges on foreign markets, which are a consequence of capital outflows and weakening growth in Russia.