The Executive Board of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) unanimously kept the base rate on main short-term operations at 5.00% per annum on 5 February 2026, judging that earlier easing is still filtering through and that inflation is set to return to, and stay within, the 5% ± 1.5 pp target band from the first quarter. After a cumulative 150 bp reduction from 6.50% in June to 5.00% in December 2025, the policy corridor remains at 3.00%-7.00% with the repo rate at 5.25%, while the NBM further loosened financial conditions by cutting required-reserve ratios to 18% on MDL/non-convertible deposits and 26% on convertible-currency deposits effective 16 February–15 March to bolster banking-system liquidity and credit supply. Annual CPI eased to 6.84% in December 2025, down 0.15 pp on the month but still just above the ceiling; the new forecast sees average inflation at 5.0% in 2026 and 4.5% in 2027. Output rebounded, with GDP up 5.2% y/y in Q3 2025 and January–September activity 2.0% above the 2024 level, supported by strong household and corporate demand and double-digit gains in exports, imports and industrial production in October-November. Weighted average loan rates fell to 9.12% in Q4 while deposit rates edged up to 5.08%, amid excess liquidity of MDL 6.2 bn. Externally, Brent oil prices were stable, the US dollar weakened and European gas prices spiked in January on cold weather and lower reserves, while international food prices stayed flat. The central bank cites domestic

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