Page 41 - GEORptOct19

to USD threshold.
The central bank said it would continue to the developments in the economy and on the financial markets and would use all means and instruments at its disposal to ensure price stability.
The latest rate hike came one week after central bank governor Koba Gvenetadze said in a Reuters interview on September 19 that the monetary authority stood ready to address further currency weakening by further hiking its refinancing rate.
At the previous monetary board meeting, the national lender introduced a tightening of monetary policy aimed at neutralising inflationary pressures stemming from exchange rate depreciation, the press release issued on September 25 reads.
As stated in the committee's reasoning behind its decision at the September 4 meeting, the policy tightening was expected to continue until the exchange rate pressure was eliminated. Moreover, in the same reasoning, the board referred to the possibilityof holding an extraordinary session if necessary.
The central bank highlighted the positive dynamics of the external balance.
Data from the external sector revealed the positive dynamics, the press release read. Specifically, the balance of trade in goods and services continued to improve in August, which, in addition to the tighter monetary policy stance, promoted the strengthening of the exchange rate through the expectations channel and, as a result, should provide the desired inflation dynamics over the medium term.
41​ GEORGIA Country Report​ October 2019 ​ ​www.intellinews.com