Belarus: Inflation inches down in January
Consumer prices rose 0.8% over the previous month in January, following a 0.2% month-on-month increase in December. A breakdown of the components showed prices climbed in all but one of the 12 sub-components. The sub-category of hotels, cafes and restaurants recorded the biggest increase in prices, while communication was the only category to see a fall in prices over the previous month.
Inflation continued to fall in January, although the magnitude of the decline was marginal compared to the previous month. In January, inflation inched down to 4.5% from 4.6% in December.
Core inflation dropped sharply on the other hand, from 2.5% in December to 0.8% in January. Given the current and projected trajectory of inflation amid the ongoing economic recovery, the Central Bank reported that it will cut the refinancing rate from 11.0% to 10.5% on 14 February.