The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has maintained the monetary policy rate for the month of November at 30%.
This is the second time in a row that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank has done so, having kept the rate unchanged in September 2023.
The Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Ernest Addison, justified the BoG’s position, citing, among other things, the necessity of strengthening the deflationary process.
“Headline inflation has continued to decelerate in the past few months, consistent with forecasts. The latest bank forecast indicates that the disinflation process is expected to continue, supported by the current tight monetary policy stance, a relatively stable exchange rate, and base drift effects. All the core measures of inflation and inflation expectations are pointing downward, and the Bank will remain vigilant on risks to the disinflation process,” Dr. Addison said.
He emphasised that there was a need to keep the policy rate tighter for longer until inflation was firmly anchored on a downward trajectory.
“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 percent,” Dr. Addison added.
The holding of the policy rate comes at a time when inflation has been experiencing some decline, settling at 35.2% in October 2023.
