Belarus max inflation expected at 12% in 2013
2012-07-26 17:36:09
Inflation is expected to be 12% at most in Belarus in 2013, Belarusian Deputy Economy Minister Alexander Yaroshenko told media on 25 July.
The official said it is quite an ambitious task to accomplish. He added: “Next year we plan the population to up the compensation for utilities cost to 35%”.
Rigorous monetary management is one of the key factors meant to tame inflation processes. A strict policy towards preferential lending is part of the efforts. As an example, the Deputy Economy Minister mentioned the investment policy the government is pursuing now. “Next year we plan to further reduce lending, including lending via emission money. The limit should be 1% of the GDP at most. We calculate it will be some Br6 trillion,” said Alexander Yaroshenko. “By complying with the rigorous requirements, we will be able to reach the planned inflation rate,” he underscored.
Speaking about the year 2012 inflation rate, the official remarked: “According to our calculations, at present we see that we will be able to stay within the forecast range of 19-22% as far as the consumer price index is concerned”.
“There is a certain thing related to the growth of salaries. But I would like to point out that we should stick to the statement we’ve been repeating over and over: labor efficiency should stay ahead of the growth of real salaries,” stressed Alexander Yaroshenko.
“As far as the public sector is concerned, we are raising the first-class pay rate as part of the deficit-free budget. It correlates with abilities of the budget policy,” added the Deputy Economy Minister.