The monetary policy committee of Kenya’s central bank maintained the country’s benchmark lending rate at 8.75%, claiming that the economy was still adjusting to the previous increase in November.
Nine market players were surveyed by Reuters, and six of them projected that the bank would maintain the rate (KECBIR=ECI), while the other three thought it would be increased. The action buckets the trend among the biggest central banks in Africa, which have kept a tightening stance throughout this year.
Last week, rate hikes were announced by Nigerian, South African, and Ghanaian policymakers.
Although it decreased for the second consecutive month in December to 9.1%, inflation is still higher than the government’s desired range of 2.5-7.5%. During their meeting in 2018, policymakers hiked the policy rate for the first time since 2015.
