Tenants save as euro falls
Euroradio estimates that the tenant of a €250-a-month apartment paid 178,000 rubels (€65) less this month compared with April.
The euro slump has led to a decrease in prices
of bicycles, air and railway tickets. However, economist Yaraslaw Ramanchuk
says that if the euro keeps falling, domestic companies will tie their rates to
the dollar.
Alyaksandr Patupa, chairman of the Belarusian Association of Entrepreneurs,
says that prices will not fall but rise steeply in Belarus.
"Prices will keep rising. The process has nothing to do with the depreciation of euro. Take fuel for instance. The oil price halved but the gasoline price has not changed in Belarus. Gas is getting cheaper in poor America and remains expensive in rich Belarus," he remarked.
No matter how the euro depreciates, Belarusian traders who bring goods from Europe do not intend to cut prices. Some traders set narrow margins because people's purchasing power is low.
Winter clothing trader Lyudmila says, "Traders set very low prices because their goods do not sell well. Prices cannot drop lower."
Economist Ramanchuk expects consumer prices to go up. "This depends on how much money the National Bank prints and how many loans our state banks issue. Since these indicators are poor, a price decrease should not be expected," he explained.Photo www.novonews.lv
