Ghana’s central bank has raised its interest rate by 300 basis points to 22% to tame inflation and stabilize the nation’s tumbling exchange rate at a special monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, August 17.
This was by the Bank of Ghana in a press release from an emergency meeting.
The monetary policy committee also decided to hike the primary reserve requirement of banks to 15% from 12%; to be implemented gradually from September 1 to November 1.
What the Bank is saying
The bank in a statement said, “The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), today held an extraordinary meeting; to review recent developments in the economy and assess risks to the outlook. The Committee took note of the increase in inflation in July; and heightened pressures in the foreign exchange market and deliberated on the underlying drivers,” the Bank said.
“Under the circumstances, and considering the risks to the inflation outlook, the Committee decided on a 300 basis points increase in the Monetary Policy Rate to 22%.”