BoG holds policy rate at 14.5% for 6th consecutive time

According to the Central Bank, this was due to some marginal threats to the country’s growth outlook. 

It also cited risks to Inflation in the near-term as broadly balanced, but there are emerging short-term pressures emanating from the rising crude oil prices.

The committee also expressed worry about the impact of direct and secondary price effects of the revenue measures announced in the 2021 budget.  

It, however, added that despite these concerns, the banking sector remains well-positioned to continue with the core objective of financial intermediation, to support the ongoing recovery process”.

The committee emphasised that banks would sustain strong performance under mild to moderate stress conditions.

The stay of the at 14.5% in March of 2021 comes exactly a year after the Monetary Policy Committee reduced the policy rate by 150 basis points from 16 percent to 14.5 percent for the first time , following the detection of coronavirus cases in March 2020.

The figure was then maintained in May, July, September and November of 2020 as well in January this year.