Dr. Ernest Addison (middle)
THE BANK of Ghana (BoG) has kept the monetary policy rate unchanged at 16 percent.
The policy rate is the rate at which at which the Central Bank lend money to the commercial banks.
Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison told journalists at a press conference on Monday, April 1, 2019 that the Bank had decided to maintain the rate.
It would be recalled that BoG in January 2019 reduced the rate to 16 percent, representing a 100 basis points.
That was after the rate was reduced by 200 basis points in March 2018 from 20 percent to 18 percent, with the Bank saying at the time that the immediate risks to the disinflation path were well contained and the conditions then providing scope to translate some of the gains in the marco stability to the economy.
According to the Governor during the press conference on April 1, 2019, the Committee would closely monitor developments in the coming months.
He added that the Committee would not hesitate to take immediate and decisive policy actions including on a tighter monetary policy stance, “should these risks materialize and threaten to dislodge the disinflation process.”
BY Melvin Tarlue