YEREVAN, September 25. /ARKA/. Armenia will manage to keep inflation rate within the band projected in the 2013 budget, Tatul Manaseryan, an economist and the head of Alternative think tank, said on Wednesday.

“It is difficult to forecast rates of inflation, since this is a multifactor phenomenon, which depends not only on gas price rise, but also on how effectively the government will apply its controlling and regulating functions and how effectively the Economic Competition Protection Commission and other agencies will work,” he told ARKA News Agency.

Nevertheless, he finds it possible to retain inflation within the projected band.

“This is possible also given the central bank’s monetary policy, which, in my opinion, is being implemented professionally and successfully,” he said.

According to the National Statistical Service, 4.1% year on-year inflation was recorded in Armenia in Jan-June 2013.

In the 2013 government budget, inflation is projected at 4% (±1.5%). ---0---