• The consolidated general government deficit ended 6.6% of projected GDP in 2012 vs. 5% of GDP in 2011 • The achievement of the fiscal target in 2013 will be a challenging task • Inflation climbed to 12.2% yoy in December, significantly above the NBS target range (4.5% +/-1.5%) in a very volatile year • NBS hiked interest rates by 25bps to 11.75% bringing the cumulative hikes to 225bps since the beginning of the tightening cycle