Romania Holds Interest Rate

2026-02-17 13:25 By Andre Joaquim 1 min. read

The National Bank of Romania held its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 6.5% in its second policy meeting of 2026, keeping borrowing costs steady since concluding its cutting cycle in August of 2024.

The monetary authority noted that headline inflation slowed in the fourth quarter of the previous year due to lower fuel prices, while their preferred core inflation rate was steady at the turn of the year following its slight uptick in the earlier months.

The data loosely maintained the inflationary backdrop in balance with the monetary conditions from the last year.

Similarly, economy-wide employment declined in the previous quarter, but the ILO-standardized unemployment rate also inched down.

The BNR continued to see an uncertain outlook due to geopolitical conflicts and global trade tensions, but its base case remained that inflation will fall sharply in the third quarter of this year to return to target by the first half of 2027.



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