YEREVAN, March 9. /ARKA/. The board of the Central Bank of Armenia has decided to raise refinancing rate by 0.5 percentage points to 6.5%, the central bank’s press office reported on Tuesday.

The central bank says 0.3% inflation was recorded in Armenia in February, compared with January.

As a result, year-on-year inflation rose 2.4 percentage points in February, compared with the previous month, to 9.4%.

Remarkable is that such a precipitous increase of the year-on-year indicators was due to inflation developments in February 2009, when the country recorded 1.8% deflation.

The central bank thinks inflation reached its peak in February, and its increase will start slowing in March, despite the rise in prices for some utilities in April 1.

Inflation environment of previous months due to increase in world prices for raw materials, mining industries products and essential foods as well as gradual recovery of economic activity will remain unchanged.

According to the press release, the central bank attaches importance to the gradual tightening of monetary policy aimed at narrowing inflation deviation from the planned level.

The previous raise of refinancing rate was made on February 16.

The central bank raised it 0.5 percentage points to 6.0% then. -0---