BoG maintains monetary policy rate at 29%

The Bank of Ghana's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has maintained the Monetary Policy Rate at 29.0 percent.

This comes after the MPC concluded its 118th bi-monthly meeting which reviewed global and domestic macroeconomic developments.

In its press release announcing the decision on Monday, May 27, the central bank said given recent considerations, "the Committee decided to maintain the Monetary Policy Rate at 29.0 percent."

Key factors that informed the MPC's decision to hold include global economic resilience despite monetary tightening across countries.

Domestically, though high-frequency indicators pointed to improved economic activity, lingering inflationary pressures and exchange rate volatility were flagged as concerns.

Commenting on inflation trends, the release stated "the disinflation process remained sluggish over the first quarter of the year."

It cited inflation rising from 23.1 percent in December to 25.8 percent by end of the first quarter, driven by food prices.

On the exchange rate, it noted "recent pressures witnessed in recent weeks reflect a weakening of the current account surplus, due to higher import demand."

The central bank said it has "enough foreign exchange reserves to support the market."