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Eurasian Development Bank expecting Belarus' inflation to be twice as high as target this year

Belarus' actual inflation rate in 2014 may be twice as high as the government-set target if the National Bank of Belarus makes no changes to its current monetary policy, warns a report released by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB).

Consumer prices in Belarus increased by 1.6 percent in April and by 6.6 percent in the first four months of the year, reported the National Statistical Committee.

Last month Nadzeya Yermakova, head of the National Bank, said that the government’s inflation target for 2014 might have to be revised upward.

"Inflation was earlier forecast at 11 percent for 2014, but now we estimate that it will be higher at some 16 or 17 percent,” Ms. Yermakova said.

Belarus had the highest inflation among the post-Soviet nations in 2011, 2012 and 2013, with a 108.7-percent, a 21.8-percent and a 16.5-percent inflation rate, respectively. //BelaPAN