BNR Governor: We have maintained the intervention rate because of uncertainty

'Maintaining the rate at the same level is based on the fact that unpredictable situations can emerge at year-end. We have high interest rates on the interbanking market and the banks' intervention interests are the same,' Isarescu said.

Convened on its first meeting after its official installation on Oct. 11, the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) kept the key interest rate unchanged at 8 percent. The Board also decided to keep a firm hand on the management of the banking system's liquidity with a view to enhancing the transmission of monetary policy signals, maintaining the current levels of the required reserve ratios applicable to credit institutions' liabilities in local lei and foreign currency.

The BNR Board set the inflation target for 2011 at 3 percent, with a variation band of plus minus 1 percentage point, down from 3.5 percent in 2010. The assumed target will be discussed with the government.

The analysis of macroeconomic indicators developments reveals a consolidation of disinflation with a certain lag, a persistent economic contraction and an ongoing significant adjustment of the external deficit, along with a worsening of foreign investors' perception regarding the Romanian economy amid heightened tensions in the domestic political field.

The annual inflation rate slid marginally to 4.94 percent in September from 4.96 percent in the previous month due to increases in excise duties on tobacco and moderate fluctuations of the leu exchange rate.