MINSK: Belarus' central bank cut its main interest rate for the third time this year on Wednesday, to 36 percent from 38 percent, reflecting an easing of pressure on its rouble and prices after a currency crisis last year.
The cut takes effect from April 2.
"Inflationary processes continue to slow down, stable growth of the population's rouble deposits is observed, the situation in foreign trade is improving," the bank said in a statement.
The central bank had already cut the refinancing rate twice this year, by 200 basis points in February and by 500 from March 1, after hiking it to 45 percent in 2011 when annual inflation reached 110 percent due to a rouble devaluation.
Month-on-month inflation slowed to 1.5 percent in February from 1.9 percent in January.
But the International Monetary Fund has said the March cut may have been premature and warned the former Soviet republic against trying to stimulate economic growth too aggressively.
Belarus devalued the rouble by as much as 65 percent and tightened fiscal and monetary policy to curb price growth and stabilise foreign exchange trade last year.
The crisis was triggered by excessive government spending in 2010, when President Alexander Lukashenko raised public sector wages and adopted an aggressive economic stimulus package as he ran for a fourth term in office.
But the rouble has stabilised since, bringing market rates back into line with official ones. On Wednesday it traded at 8,080 roubles per dollar compared to 8,350 at the start of the year.
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