Skopje, 13 April 2023  

The National Bank remains committed to fulfilling its main goal, that is, ensuring medium-term price stability. For that purpose, the Central Bank is vigilantly monitoring the situation and taking all necessary measures to reduce the inflation rates to 2% in the medium term. The financial stability maintenance is also in support of achieving this goal, said the Governor of the National Bank, Anita Angelovska Bezhoska in the interview for "Voice of America", who is participating in the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in Washington.  

In the context of the latest developments in the financial system and the recommendations of the IMF that despite their influence on the financial markets, the central banks should continue tightening the monetary policy, the Governor indicated that our Central Bank is constantly vigilantly monitoring macroeconomic indicators and, if necessary, takes appropriate measures. The National Bank is still in a cycle of monetary policy tightening, which began at the end of 2021 by managing the liquidity of the foreign exchange market, and since April 2022, as well as by increasing the interest rates. This monetary setup was also enabled by several changes to the reserve requirement instrument, which are aimed at increasing the denar savings. At the same time, in order to enable the domestic banks to adequately manage the credit risk, the National Bank undertakes systemic measures, as well, such as the introduction of the countercyclical capital buffer.

In the interview for the "Voice of America", the Governor referred to the World Economic Survey, which was published by the IMF at the beginning of the Meetings. According to the basic scenario within the IMF's April forecasts, the global economic growth in 2023 is expected to slow down compared to the previous year, especially in developed economies, while next year it would moderately accelerate, so that in the medium term it would remain at approximately 3%, which is the lowest mid-term rating in the past few decades. The risks to the global economic growth are mainly downward and are associated with turmoil in the financial sector, worsening financing conditions, declining consumer and investor confidence, and the development of the military situation in Ukraine. Household consumption and low unemployment rates in labor markets, which can have a positive impact, as well as greater resilience of the global economy, are cited as positive aspects. As small and open, our economy will be influenced by global developments, especially the EU economy, which is our largest trading partner. The Governor emphasized that the spring forecasts are being completed at the National Bank and presented during the next month.