The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has maintained the policy rate at 30.0%.
According to BoG, the rate at which it lends to commercial banks is unchanged due to concerns about inflation outlook.
This comes at a time when headline inflation has been witnessing some easing, hitting 35.2% in October 2023.
This is the second consecutive time it has maintained the rate this year.
Addressing the media, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, pointed out that headline inflation has continued to decelerate in the past few months consistent with their decision.
Dr. Addison stated that the latest BoG forecast indicates that the disinflation process is expected to continue, supported by the current tight monetary policy stance, relatively stable exchange rate, and base drift effects.
“All the core measures of inflation and inflation expectations are pointing downwards, and the Bank will remain vigilant on risks to the disinflation process.”
“The Committee noted that although inflation is decelerating, it remains high relative to the target. Therefore, there is a need to keep the policy rate tighter for longer until inflation is firmly anchored on a downward trajectory towards the medium-term target. Given these considerations, the Committee decided to maintain the monetary policy rate at 30.0%”.
“The interbank weighted average rate, the rate at which banks lend among themselves, increased to align with the policy corridor”.
“The average rate increased to 28.49 percent in October 2023 from 23.98% in October 2022, in line with movements in the monetary policy rate and an increase in the Cash Reserve Ratio,” he said.