Aleksandr Lukashenko hears out Nadezhda Yermakova's report

On 5 April President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko met with the Chairperson of the Board of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB), Nadezhda Yermakova, to receive her report.

The head of state was updated on the situation in the currency and monetary markets, the operation of economy and banks. The meeting also focused on a number of issues related to the Belarusian Union of Women.

"The financial sector is relatively quiet. This is, perhaps, the main indicator that the situation has rectified," the President said.

The head of state confirmed that Belarus had to level off prices for some commodities with the neighboring countries to minimize an unauthorized import of goods.

“Prices and inflation are under control in the country. They are mainly pushed up by our need to level off prices and set parity with our neighbors. It is more difficult when the inflation is out of control. We will go on keeping it as well as the prices under control,” the head of state said. He added that tariffs, prices, and services might be increased only if salaries rise.

Nadezhda Yermakova stated that the situation in the foreign currency market was stable in Q1 2012. The fluctuations of the exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble were minor. In her words, it was directly related to the demand and supply. Today the supply on the currency market considerably exceeds the demand of both the companies and population.

As for the operation of the banking system, Nadezhda Yermakova said that Belarusian banks report excessive liquidity today. In this situation banks might reduce interest rates on their loans.

Speaking about the interest rates on household deposits, the NBRB head noted that they went down slightly due to the lowering refinancing rate. The refinancing rate reduced after the inflation declined. “The abovementioned proves that our economy works better now that it did last year. The situation in the monetary market has been stabilizing as well,” Nadezhda Yermakova added.