LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The inflation rate in Malta has increased slightly and it is highest than the average in the Eurozone. According to the National Statistics Office, , the inflation rate was 7.1 percent last month, an increase of 0.1 percent compared to last February. Meanwhile, official statistics confirmed that the inflation in EU countries was 8.3 percent and 6.9 in the Eurozone. The biggest increase in the annual inflation rate in March was in the food and non-alcoholic drink price index at 2.3%. This was mainly due to higher meat prices. Meanwhile, the Governor of the Central Bank of Malta Prof Edward Scicluna declared that tough decisions may be needed to fight what he described the “inflation monster”. During the launch of Malta’s Central Bank 2022 annual report, Scicluna warned that “inflation is likely to remain too high for too long”. While declaring that the Central Bank’s mandate is to fight inflation, he declared “if interest rates need to rise, we will raise them, even if it comes at the cost of the Central Bank’s finances.” As a consequene of a series of interests raise implemented by the European Central Bank throughout 2022, local banks ended up under increasing pressure to raise their own interest rates, with potentially problematic consequences for home loan holders. However, the Governor of Malta’s Central Bank remarked that the Maltese banks have high liquidity, and this factor allowed them to limit the impact of inflation, without passing the costs on to their customers. Meanwhile, the President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde praised Malta’s “extraordinary economic growth” and congratulated the Central Bank on the “great confidence” it demonstrated throughout the years in transforming Malta into a modern economy.
Photo credits: www.agenziafotogramma.it
