Angola: Bank of Angola left Basic Interest Rate unchanged in February following two consecutive hikes
February 29, 2016
At its 29 February policy meeting, the second of the year, the National Bank of Angola (BNA, Banco Nacional de Angola) decided to leave the Basic Interest Rate unchanged at 12.00% after two consecutive hikes, in December and January.
In its brief press release, the BNA stated that it grounded its decision on the evolution of prices, the exchange rate, other macroeconomic indicators as well as the world economy for the month of January. The Bank noted that inflation climbed to 17.34% in January. The Bank stated that the average exchange rate for the Angolan kwanza depreciated by 15.00% against the previous month, standing at 156.6 AOA per USD in January. Regarding the stock of credit in the economy, the Monetary Policy Committee said that in January it had expanded by 3.01% in cumulative terms since the beginning of the year.
Against this backdrop, the Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the Basic Interest Rate at 12.00%. The next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for 28 March.
