CBA board made a decision on tightening monetary policy for keeping expected inflation prices down, in particular continue currency investments and refinancing rate to increase up to 7%.

Asked whether this policy is justified, former CBA Chairman Bagrat Asatryan replied to NEWS.am correspondent: “Central Bank should certainly perform its functions, but within last 1-1.5 years in my opinion it uses inadequate tools. They relaunched currency investments, that are unbecoming to central banks.”

“This is not the way of controlling the prices, or an improper one that might lead to fallout,” Asatryan stated.

According to him, there are other means, and one of them is rise in reserve ratio, which is a crude but acceptable method unlike intervention.

Under the Central Bank forecast, in H1 2010 price rise will exceed the estimates, but thereafter it will be controlled.

S.T.