By Central Bank News
The central bank of Zambia raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 9.25 percent to rein in inflationary pressures that threaten to push inflation above the bank’s year-end target of 7.0 percent.
The Bank of Zambia said the upward pressure on inflation in November was coming from feed prices that may contribute to higher meat prices and a global grain deficit that may lead to higher domestic and imported grain prices.
However, the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee had also noted some downward risks to inflation from stable vegetable and fish prices due to seasonal supply.
“The Committee weighed the risks and was of the opinion that inflationary pressures during the policy-relevant period may pose a threat to end-year inflation target of 7.0 percent,” the bank said in a statement, adding that containing short-term inflation is critical to achieving lower interest rates in the medium and long term.
The latest inflation date from Zambia’s statistics office are from July, when annual inflation eased to 6.2 percent from June’s 6.7 percent.
