At today’s meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the following monetary policy decisions were taken: The official interest rates of the Central Bank of Cyprus, that is the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility, remain unchanged at 4,25% and 2,25%, respectively. During its meeting, the MPC noted that both international and domestic economic developments have not substantially changed since its last meeting on 2 December 2005 so as to warrant a change in domestic interest rates at this juncture. With regard to international developments, the MPC took into serious consideration the wait-and-see stance adopted by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England at their respective meetings yesterday. On the domestic front, the MPC noted the fall in inflation to 1,99% in December compared with 2,87% in the previous month. For the whole 2005, inflation reached 2,56% compared with 2,28% in 2004. The MPC also noted the satisfactory growth in economic activity and bank credit. In view of the above, the MPC decided unanimously to maintain a wait-and-see stance, leaving official interest rates unchanged.