Demand risks in the area of inflation are not increasing in Slovakia, the governor of the country's central bank (NBS), Ivan Šramko, said at a press conference on April 29.
"Taking into account the fact that the increase in inflation is due to global cost factors that are also influencing price increases in neighbouring countries, the central bank's board decided to keep all key interest rates unchanged," added Šramko.
The decision left the key two-week repo rate at 4.25 percent, while the overnight rates remained at 5.75 percent for refinancing operations and at 2.25 percent for draining excess market liquidity, the TASR newswire wrote.
According to Šramko, demand pressures will be softened due to future public-finance consolidation.
"As the potential risks remain the development of salaries and the labour-market situation, it is necessary to secure moderate salary development, especially in the public sector, and to pass measures aimed at improving labour mobility and motivation," Šramko said.
The NBS expects a slowdown in GDP growth, which reached a peak in Slovakia last year at 10.4 percent. TASR
b>Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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