The headline inflation rate was 2.7 percent in September, bringing the average inflation rate for the first nine months to 2.6 percent, lower compared to the 6.8 percent recorded during the same period last year. •  Lower inflation meantime has allowed interest rates to decline.
The average 91-day T-bill rate was at 3.3 percent in September, lower by 2 percentage points compared to its year-ago figure. •  The NPL ratio of U/KBs at 5.18 percent (July 2007) has been in single-digit territory since June 2005 and is close to the pre-1997 crisis level of 4 percent. (For banks, the latest NPL ratio for July was at 5.6 percent.)