FX.co ★ Romania Holds Interest Rate

The National Bank of Romania kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 6.5% at its second policy meeting of 2026, maintaining borrowing costs at the same level since ending its easing cycle in August 2024. The central bank noted that headline inflation slowed in the fourth quarter of last year, mainly on the back of lower fuel prices, while its preferred measure of core inflation was broadly stable around the turn of the year after a modest increase in previous months. Overall, these developments left the inflation environment broadly aligned with last year’s monetary conditions. In the labor market, total employment declined in the previous quarter, yet the ILO-standardized unemployment rate edged slightly lower. The BNR highlighted that the outlook remains clouded by geopolitical tensions and strains in global trade, but its baseline scenario continues to project a sharp drop in inflation in the third quarter of this year, with a return to the target range expected by the first half of 2027.