North Macedonia Keeps Policy Rate at 4%

2026-03-24 12:11 By Luisa Carvalho 1 min. read

The National Bank of North Macedonia left the main interest rate unchanged at 4% at its March 2026 meeting, maintaining a cautious policy stance, citing challenges posed by the Middle East conflict.

Policymakers noted that inflation continued to slow as expected, reaching 2.9% in February, although rising global energy prices could exert upward pressure.

The domestic economy remained resilient, expanding 3.5% in 2025, with Q4 growth at 3.8%, supported by strong investment and export performance.

However, external risks have increased sharply, due to the recent outbreak of the Middle East conflict, which has disrupted global energy supplies and added uncertainty to global growth prospects.

The central bank signaled readiness to use all tools to maintain the denar's stability against the euro and ensure price stability.



News Stream
North Macedonia Keeps Policy Rate at 4%
The National Bank of North Macedonia left the main interest rate unchanged at 4% at its March 2026 meeting, maintaining a cautious policy stance, citing challenges posed by the Middle East conflict. Policymakers noted that inflation continued to slow as expected, reaching 2.9% in February, although rising global energy prices could exert upward pressure. The domestic economy remained resilient, expanding 3.5% in 2025, with Q4 growth at 3.8%, supported by strong investment and export performance. However, external risks have increased sharply, due to the recent outbreak of the Middle East conflict, which has disrupted global energy supplies and added uncertainty to global growth prospects. The central bank signaled readiness to use all tools to maintain the denar's stability against the euro and ensure price stability.
2026-03-24
North Macedonia Maintains Key Interest Rate at 4%
The National Bank of North Macedonia decided to keep the main interest rate unchanged at 4% to maintain a cautious approach and control inflation. Inflation averaged 4.1% in 2025, slightly above the historical average, so stabilizing prices remains a priority. Global uncertainty, rising commodity prices, and domestic demand still pose risks to future inflation. Economic growth is steady, with GDP growing 3.8% in late 2025 and expected to improve slightly, supported by infrastructure projects and strong bank lending. Foreign exchange reserves reached €5.6 billion, considered sufficient to maintain currency stability. Bank deposits and loans are growing, showing a healthy banking sector. However, external risks such as global trade tensions and geopolitical issues remain.
2026-02-10
CB Macedonia Adopts New Monetary Policy Framework
The National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia kept its monetary policy stance unchanged at its December 2025 meeting, maintaining a prudent approach amid the need for a more durable stabilization of inflation, strong credit dynamics, and lingering risks from the external environment. At the same time, the central bank began implementing a new operational monetary framework, as previously announced. Under the revised setup, central bank bills will remain the key policy instrument used to signal the monetary policy stance, but their maturity has been shortened to seven days and the interest rate set at 4%. Previously, policymakers used a seven-week tenor with a rate of 5.35%.
2025-12-24