The National Bank of Angola (BNA) has decided to keep its basic interest rate unchanged at 17%, while increasing the liquidity facility rate from 17% to 17.5%, marking an elevation of 0.5 percentage points.
The permanent liquidity absorption rate will stay at 13.5.
This announcement was made during a press conference in the nation’s capital, Luanda, by the central bank’s governor, Manuel Tiago Dias, following the 112th Monetary Policy Committee (CPM) meeting.
This marks the first meeting under Dias’ stewardship since he assumed the role on June 16.
Dias explained the reasoning behind the decision.
This was driven by the reemergence of inflationary pressures, a consequence of fluctuations in the macroeconomic environment, including a decrease in export revenues and subsequent depreciation of the national currency.
Furthermore, he noted that the anticipation around the potential decrease in gasoline subsidies and changes due to the restructuring of street vending contributed to price fluctuations.
As part of their decision-making process, the Monetary Policy Committee also decided to modify the custody fee mechanism on excess liquidity of commercial banks, according to the central bank’s governor.