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TIRANA, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Inflation is projected to average 2.3 percent in 2017 while it is expected to return to the central bank's target of 3.0 percent in 2018, the Bank of Albania said Friday when presenting its quarterly monetary policy report.
According to the central bank, annual inflation averaged 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, similar to the previous quarter, while the preliminary estimates indicated that positive trends in economic activity would continue during 2017 as well.
Albania's consumer price index stood at 2.8 percent in January, mainly due to the appreciation of food and beverages, the national statistics institute said.
The bank said it expected credit to improve further in 2017 based on the signals for a gradual recovery of credit demand and the positive effects on the supply side from the materialization of measures for the reduction of non-performing loans.
"Monetary policy will continue to be accommodating, but the intensity of the monetary stimulus will be adapted to the dynamics and the speed of the return of the economy to equilibrium," the cental bank said in its report. Enditem
