T he inflation rate for last year was 31 percent overall, with prices actually

deflating by 30 percent in the second half of the year, new figures released by

the National Bank of Cambodia reveal.

The inflation figure for last year

is a considerable improvement on 1992 when it spiraled out of control to reach

176 per cent overall.

In its report on the final quarter of 1993, the NBC

said: "Fiscal and monetary policies in the second half of the year brought

considerable success in the fight against inflation."

Inflation had been

running at 85.41 percent in March prior to the elections but substantial falls

in the food price index brought overall inflation for the year down. Rice prices

lead the way, falling by 22.2 percent in November alone.

The NBC

concluded: "The overall picture is of genuine stability, especially after May

1993."

Despite wild gyrations last year, the riel ended up declining by

only seven per cent against the dollar as compared with 1992, with the overall

rate softening from 2,310 to 2,470 riels to the dollar.

The NBC sold riel

to bring its value down against the dollar in December after it climbed 17 per

cent to an exchange rate of around 2,240 in November.

On money supply,

the report reveals that the government was able to hold back growth to 34

percent last year after it mushroomed by a staggering 300 percent in 1992.