By CentralBankNews.info
Rwanda’s central bank “will maintain its accommodative monetary policy stance to stimulate credit to the private sector as long as inflationary pressures will remain limited,” the bank’s governor said.
Presenting the National Bank of Rwanda’s (BNR) policy and financial stability statement, John Rwangombwa also said the country’s economy slowed in 2013 compared to recent years due to the impact of cuts and delays in budgets in 2012.
Annual growth in Rwanda’s Gross Domestic Product fell to 3.9 percent in the third quarter of 2013 from 5.7 percent in the second quarter and the country’s finance and economic planning ministry has therefore revised down its 2013 growth forecast to less than 6.0 percent, Rwangombwa said.
Rwanda’s inflation rate eased to 2.43 percent in January, down from 3.65 percent in December, and he said deposit interest rates and lending rates had declined in line with the bank’s monetary stance. The lending rate declined to 16.9 percent in December from 17.8 percent in September.
At the last meeting of its monetary policy committee in December 2013, the BNR held its repo rate steady at 7.0 percent following a 50 basis point rate cut in June.
