Moldova's central bank lifts policy rate to 9% amid rising inflation

On September 17, the National Bank of Moldova (BNM) raised its policy rate by 1.5 percentage points, setting it at 9% and moving the overnight lending rate to 11% and the repo rate to 9.25%. The decision, taken unanimously by the BNM Executive Committee, kept reserve ratios steady at 18% for lei and non-convertible currencies and 26% for freely convertible currencies. August’s annual inflation rose to 6.96%, exceeding the upper bound of the BNM’s 5% ± 1.5% target, as international energy, food and raw-material costs surged and domestic demand grew with higher disposable incomes.

The central bank noted that regulated natural-gas prices had risen later than expected after a delay in tariff adjustments, and that energy costs will remain a key pressure source. The rate hike is intended to dampen inflationary forces, promote saving over consumption, and stabilize expectations, with a forecast that inflation will re-enter the target band in Q3 2027. Risks were revised down for Q3 2026 but up for later periods due to lingering price-pressure uncertainty.