Jorgovanka Tabaković: Overview of recent monetary and macroeconomic trends in Serbia

Introductory speech by Dr Jorgovanka Tabaković, Governor of the National Bank of Serbia, at the presentation of the February Inflation Report, Belgrade, 18 February 2022.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed members of the press, dear colleagues,

Welcome to the presentation of the February Inflation Report. We will give you an overview of recent economic trends, our new macroeconomic projections, as well as monetary policy decisions made in the period since the previous Report.

Since our last meeting in November, the global economy has been marked by geopolitical tensions, deepening energy crisis and further growth in cost-push pressures on a global scale. In addition, we are faced with persisting problems in global supply chains and the spread of the Omicron variant, to which the leading world economies reacted differently. All of this has led to additional mismatches between demand and supply and to new inflationary pressures globally. Energy and food prices recorded a sharp rise worldwide. Unlike in the previous crises, besides oil prices, the prices of gas and electricity also recorded robust growth in international commodity exchanges. Global strengthening of cost-push pressures and the spread of the Omicron variant in our key foreign trade partners led not only to the upward revision of inflation projections, but also to a slowdown in economic activity and a downward revision of GDP growth projections.