MPC maintains policy rate at 22 percent

The Monetary Policy Committee of the central bank has voted to maintain the policy rate at 22 percent largely on the back of the strong recovery of the local currency.

The policy rate which signifies the rate at which banks lend to its customers.

The rate hold will mean that lending rates of banks will remain stable.

The Committee observed that though inflation and inflation expectations were still elevated, the pressures in the outlook for the medium-term were waning. This is as a result of the tight monetary policy stance, continuing fiscal consolidation and the recent recovery of the cedi.

According to the Bank of Ghana, headline inflation moved up from 16.7 percent in March to 16.9 percent in May 2015.

“This price development is largely influenced by the pass-through of the currency depreciation and continuing cost-push inflation. Furthermore, core inflation (CPI excluding energy and utilities) continued to rise, signaling underlying inflation pressures,” central bank governor Kofi Wampah said.

The local currency recovered strongly against the major currencies in July 2015. The cedi was trading at 4.33 to the US dollar as at June 30, 2015 (year-to-date depreciation of 26.2 %). However, as at July 14, 2015 it was trading at GH¢3.31 to the US dollar (year-to-date depreciation of 3.4%).