Economy Ministry attributes decline in eurobond yield to sound economic policy of Belarus

MINSK, 28 February (BelTA) – The yield on the Belarusian eurobonds has been steadily declining, which reflects the positive assessment of the macroeconomic policy of the country, Deputy Economy Minister of Belarus Dmitry Golukhov said at the third international forum “Capital Market of the Republic of Belarus,” BelTA learned.

The socio-economic development of Belarus in early 2013 is characterized by a relatively stable economic performance, growth across most macro-economic indicators, said Dmitry Golukhov. “We believe the steadily declining yield on the Belarusian eurobonds attests to the sound macroeconomic policy,” the deputy minister said.

However, despite the progress achieved since the end of 2011, the process of stabilization is a dynamic notion. Therefore, sustainable economic development depends entirely on sound macroeconomic, monetary and fiscal policies, said Dmitry Golukhov.

“I believe some immunity has been developed against wrong steps and risky decisions. I am confident that the policy for sustainable long-term development will be balanced and coherent,” Dmitry Golukhov said.

Last year’s stringent budget and monetary policy helped the country slow down the inflation rate, keep its gold and forex reserves at a decent level while increasing payments on foreign loans, reducing the current accounts deficit and reaching state budget surplus, the deputy minister said. Great headway was also made in the work on foreign trading markets. According to the preliminary data, a surplus in foreign trade in goods and services made up about $3 billion in 2012. In general, the country’s balance of payments showed considerable recovery.

In 2012 the country’s economic growth (1.5%) was, first of all, achieved due to the implementation of measures to contract the domestic demand in order to cut on earlier-formed misbalances.