YEREVAN, July 31 /ARKA/. Armenia's Central Bank decided today to leave the refinancing rate unchanged at 5.75%.

It said in June 2019 deflation of 1.9% was registered against deflation of 1.6% in the same period last year. As a result, the inflation at the end of June 2019 dropped to 2.5%. It said the drop was driven by a deeper seasonal decline in prices for a number of agricultural products. It said also that the natural inflation rose slightly during the month.

According to the regulator, despite the fact that the inflationary environment remains weak in the basic food and commodities markets, it does not expect inflationary pressures from the external sector.

The Central Bank said it gives preference to a gradual recovery of inflation and considers it appropriate to maintain the current stimulating size of monetary conditions, leaving the refinancing rate unchanged.

On January 29 of the current year, the Central Bank, for the first time in almost two years, lowered the refinancing rate by 0.25 percentage points to 5.75%. -0-