TIRANA, Dec 20 /ATA/ Economic activity in the country continued to grow in the second half of the year, while inflation decreased in the fourth quarter. The normalization of the stance of the monetary policy has eased the internal inflationary pressures and contributed to the normal functioning of the money markets.
This is what the BoA Governor Gent Sejko told the media on Wednesday, informing that, “projections for the future remain positive: the volume of economic activity is expected to continue to grow in the medium term, while inflation is expected to gradually return to the target rate during the upcoming year.”
The governor said that, “consumer price inflation dropped to around 3.9% during the first two months of the fourth quarter, driven by lower inflation in food items, services and consumer durables. On the other hand, housing services and non-food consumer goods, and in particular fuel, recorded higher inflation rates.
According to him, the volume of economic activity, employment and wages have been increasing, mostly reflecting the positive trend of the services sector, led by tourism. “This sector recorded revenues of 3.2 billion euros during the first three quarters of the year, an increase of 47% from the same period a year ago. For the first time in our history as an economy based on the principles of the free market, Albania registered a positive balance of the trade account and the current account, estimated at around 6.4% of GDP in the third quarter,” the governor said .
Regarding the expectations for the future, Sejko emphasized that, “the BoA outlook reconfirms that the Albanian economy will continue to grow, driven by the further expansion of consumption, investments and export of services. On the other hand, inflation is projected to continue to reduce during 2024. This reduction will reflect both a better balance of demand and supply in the domestic economy, as well as further reductions in inflation in our trading partners.”
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