We have to live for a while with inflation while the current crisis in Cyprus can not be compared to 2013, says the President of the Council of Economy and Competitiveness Takis Clerides.
Speaking on the show Mesimeri kai Kati, he said that we are living in a global crisis today and can not be compared to the financial crisis of 2013, he noted.
In 2013, not everyone suffered, but only specific countries, including Cyprus.
"Now we are in the same basket, from Europe to Asia and America, everyone will put water in their wine and measures will be taken that will benefit the world."
We as Cyprus at the moment must take the measures we must take to help ourselves.
He reminded that from an economic point of view, we must always have a knot as a state so that we can more easily deal with economic crises as was the case with the coronavirus.
Interest rate hikes are not a panacea but they will help
On possible interest rate hikes he said it could not be a panacea for inflation.
He added that if interest rates rise, inflation may not be combated but it may help to some extent.
Prices are rising because production costs are rising as a result of the unexpected events that have taken place, both with the coronavirus and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The rise in interest rates also increases the cost of borrowing for producers, which may further increase prices, he noted.
We have to live with inflation
Takis Clerides also stressed that we will have to live with inflation for a while without this meaning that it will be a situation that will last in the coming years.
We do not expect that next year we will have the same price increase we faced this year.
Regarding energy, Mr. Clerides expects that by the end of the year oil prices will return from the current high levels.
There is no doubt that public debt is manageable
Asked about the public debt, Takis Clerides said that without a doubt it is manageable.
We have reached higher levels of public debt than today while other countries are living with higher levels of debt.
Europe is also in a good mood to withstand high public debt so that it can gradually reach the desired levels of debt to GDP.
There is also the Recovery Fund which will help the countries that are facing issues.
This will certainly be achieved in parallel with the growth that the states show after the coronavirus pandemic, he pointed out.