Romania keeps policy rate, signals higher inflation in Q2 on Middle East effects
Romania’s central bank (BNR) decided, at its April 7 board meeting, to maintain the monetary policy rate at 6.5%, noting disinflationary pressures from aggregate demand following the renewed decrease in annual GDP dynamics in Q1, as well…
iulian ernst · Journalist
· Updated · 4 min read
Romania’s central bank (BNR) decided, at its April 7 board meeting, to maintain the monetary policy rate at 6.5%, noting disinflationary pressures from aggregate demand following the renewed decrease in annual GDP dynamics in Q1, as well as inflationary effects from the Middle East crisis, which is expected to spur higher inflation in Q2.
The annual inflation rate continued to decrease slowly in the first two months of 2026, reaching 9.31% in February from 9.69% in December 2025. In turn, the annual adjusted CORE2 inflation rate halted its rise at the beginning of the year, posting a small drop in the first two months as a whole, to 8.3% in February 2026 from 8.5% in December 2025. The inflation forecast, dated before the Middle East conflict began, envisages 3.9% year-end inflation after base effects dissipate through H2.
