This decision is associated with the upcoming liberalization of regulated tariffs and external economic uncertainties still persisting because of the coronavirus, the Central Bank said.

“The central bank admits that the main peak of inflation will occur in the second quarter. Meanwhile, in the second half of 2020, the impact of tariff growth will gradually decrease, as a result, the annual inflation rate will approach the upper limit of the forecast line,” the press release said.

According to the Central Bank, the inflation rate in February was 13.5%, down by 0.8 percentage points compared to January (14.3%) and by 1.7 percentage points compared to December 2019 (15.2%).

In February 2020, core inflation fell to 12.5% per annum, down by 1.4 percentage points compared to December 2019.