National Bank cuts interest rate to all-time low, but economy is already down
The National Bank has cut its key interest rate on
RON-denominated loans by a quarter of a percentage point, to a new
all-time low of 6.25%, but the signal to make loans cheaper comes
too late, now that the economy is down and appears not to have the
strength to pick itself up.
Last year, when the effects of the crisis, which started in 2008,
were fully felt, and the economy fell by 7%, the NBR was very slow
to cut the interest rate, from 10.25% to 8% a year, for fear of
inflationary pressures and of a RON depreciation. On neighbouring
markets central banks were quick to cut interest rates, even below
inflation, in order to stimulate lending, and their economies coped
with the crisis better.
Only in 2010 did the Romanian central bank cut the interest rate at
a faster pace, with cuts amounting to 1.75% in just four months.
But now companies are struggling to cut costs after their markets
collapsed, and redundancies mean people have less money to spend,
which creates a downward spiral.