Bank of Albania keeps base interest rate at 5.75%

TIRANA, August 28؁lbania’s central bank said on Wednesday it will keep its key interest rate unchanged at 5.75% after annual inflation in July remained within the bank’s target band of two to four percent.
Annual inflation in July is estimated at around 2.2% and is within BoA’s target band, its governor, Ardian Fullani, said in a statement.
In January the Bank of Albania cut the rate by 0.5 percentage points to 5.75% in an attempt to ensure the country’s macroeconomic stability amidst the global financial and economic turmoil. The cut was the first change in the rate since November 2007 when the central bank raised it by 0.25 percentage points to 6.25%.
Albania has said its sees its economy growing by 6.3% this year, compared to a 7.2% growth rate recorded in 2008. Other forecasts predict a much slower growth.