ArmInfo. This time, the Central Bank of Armenia has considered it appropriate to leave the refinancing rate unchanged at 6.75%. This decision was made on March 18 at a meeting of the Board of the Central Bank of Armenia. The Lombard Repo Facility Rate - 8.25% and the Deposit Facility Rate - 5.25% have also been kept at the previous level.
Since mid-2023, the key rate has been reduced by 4 percentage points from its historical maximum of 10.75% in December 2022. Over the past year and a half, the rates on Lombard repos and deposits attracted from banks have also decreased by the same amount (by 4 percentage points), from 12.25% and 9.25%, respectively, in December 2022 ( maintained until June 2023). Currently, the refinancing rate, rates on Lombard repos, and deposits attracted from banks are not at their minimum levels of 4.25%, 5.75% and 2.75%, recorded in the second half of 2020.
According to statistics, in February 2025, inflation was recorded at 2.5% compared to February 2024, which had a deflationary rate of 1.7% compared to February 2023. The Central Bank's calculated baseline annual inflation rate for February is slightly lower at 1.5%, compared to the annual deflation rate of 0.7% in February 2024. The detailed rationale for the Central Bank Council's decision to leave the refinancing rate unchanged will be presented at a press conference today at 14:00 by the Chairman of the Central Bank, Martin Galstyan.
