The chief economist of TBC Bank rationally assesses the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee of the National Bank to keep the refinancing rate unchanged at 8% and states that this decision was not a surprise to the market.
Otar Nadaraia states that the situation is not easy due to global factors, although at this stage, it does not seem that the NBG will have to tighten its policy. According to Nadaraia, in the base scenario of “TBC Capital,” the monetary policy rate will remain at approximately the same level throughout the year.
"Keeping the rate unchanged was not surprising, and market participants had the same opinion. Why shouldn’t it be reduced more?! Inflation is indeed below the target, but it might exceed the 3% indicator.
There is uncertainty in many directions and I think that leaving the rate unchanged was really rational, and given the fact that deposit rates, which are not related to refinancing, have recently increased, the lari has become more expensive, which is a recent trend. Therefore, I can say that our expectations were also the same. As for the forecast, we think that [the monetary policy rate] will remain at approximately the same level throughout the year, which is our base scenario," Nadaraia told TV program " Business Course".
