ULAN BATOR, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The monetary policy council of Mongolia's central bank announced Friday it would cut the benchmark interest rate from 11 percent to 10 percent.
The move aims to support the inland Asian country's economic growth while keeping inflation below 8 percent in 2018.
It "will reduce the cost of the banking sector and support the economy. It is expected that the Bank of Mongolia can reach the 8-percent inflation target," Bayardavaa Bayarsaikhan, a director of the bank's monetary policy department, told a news briefing after a council meeting.
Mongolia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.1 percent year on year in 2017, compared to 1.0 percent for the previous year.
The International Monetary Fund has predicted Mongolia's GDP growth will reach 5.0 percent this year and 6.3 percent next year.
