The bank kept the minimum reserve requirements unchanged at 15% for Romanian-leu denominated liabilities and at 20% for foreign currency liabilities.
In November, the bank reduced its monetary policy rate to 6%, from 6.25%, the first cut in a year and a half.
The central bank decision follows several months of low inflation, with the annual rate at 3.44% in November, the lowest in over two decades.
The bank noted a consolidation of disinflation, saying its recent assessments show that the annual inflation rate will near the mid-point of the variation band around the 3% target, in line with the latest forecast.
The central bank targets an annual inflation of 3% at the end of 2011, plus/minus one percentage point around the band. The bank estimated the year-end inflation would fall below its 3.3% forecast, owing to a steady exchange rate of the leu. The Romanian statistics institute will release December inflation data on January 11.
The recovery of the Romanian economy has continued, fueled by exports and the solid industrial and farming output, the central bank said in a news release, while noting that the higher uncertainties regarding the global economic growth amid a worsened risk appetite and the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone “are hindering the short-term outlook for the overall economic activity in Romania.”
The credit growth is “relatively modest,” mainly on leu-denominated loans, despite a mild advance in the past few months, it said.
“As uncertainties regarding the external environment, capital flows, the trends in administered and some volatile prices persist, the prudent monetary policy stance will enhance the favorable prospects of the convergence of inflation towards the medium-term targets,” the release adds.
Moreover, the central bank reaffirms that “the gradual adjustment of monetary conditions will not only help resume robust economic growth, but also boost domestic savings, including the aim to support a sustainable external deficit and a lower dependence on external financing.”