DUSHANBE, December 19, Asia-Plus – The National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) has increased the refinancing rate again, the NBT press service reported.
This time, the refinancing rate has been increased by 2%, from 10% to 12%, a source at Tajik central bank said, noting that increase in the refinancing rate is one of instruments of the bank’s monetary policy to curb inflation.
According to the source, the inflation rate has exceeded the anticipated rate of 10 percent and, as of December 1, amounted to 11.1 percent. Last year, an average rate of inflation was 7.1 percent.
The NBT press service said that in February this year, Tajik central bank lowered the refinancing rate from 9 percent to 8.5 percent, but following a process of alignment between domestic prices and inflation the bank in late August increased the refinancing rate to 9 percent again.
In early November, the bank increased the refinancing rate by 1 percent, from 9 to 10 percent.
In January-November 2006, prices of basic food products have increased on average by 11.9 percent. Non-foodstuffs have risen in cost by 4.8 percent over the same eleven-month period. Over the past eleven months, the prices of services rendered to the population have increased by 19 percent and the rate of inflation in consumer sector has increased by 1 percent.
The source added that the NBT plans to increase interest rates on the main operations of the monetary policy as well.
Refinancing refers to applying for a secured loan
intended to replace an existing loan secured by the same assets. Refinancing may be undertaken to reduce interest
costs (by refinancing at a lower rate), to pay off other debts, to reduce one”s periodic payment obligations (sometimes by taking a longer-term loan), to reduce risk (such as by refinancing from a variable-rate to a fixed-rate loan), and/or to liquidate some or all of the equity that has accumulated in real property during the tenure of ownership.
