OREANDA-NEWS. October 28, 2011. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has encouraged the Belarusian government to raise interest rates on the financial market above the level of inflation, IMF team leader Christopher Jarvis told a briefing in Minsk.

“The National Bank should raise interest rates further and faster to levels which are higher than expected inflation, so that people will be confident that they will receive a positive return on their savings,” the IMF representative said.

“There is an urgent need to bring down inflation, which is eroding living standards and feeding depreciation expectations. The depreciation so far has helped to bring down the current account deficit, which is an important and welcome development, but these gains would be eroded by continued high inflation. To achieve external sustainability and domestic stability, it is important that the Government and the National Bank take action now to reduce inflation,” Jarvis said.