Luanda – The National Reserve Bank of Angola (BNA) foresees by the end of 2023, an inflation rate of between 9 and to 11 percent close to that recommended in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
José de Lima Massano, BNA governor, has said that even with this forecast it is still too high.
The inflation target for the SADC countries is 4 to 6 percent, figures that will not be seen by the end of 2023 in Angola.
Currently, the BNA’s basic interest rate has risen from 19.5 percent to 18 percent, which is still above the inflation rate of 13.8 percent.
Speaking at a press conference after the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (CPM), Lima Massano spoke of the need to work more to reduce inflation, an exercise that for him should not be seen as “strangling” the economy.
“If the current picture remains unchanged, we have conditions to continue along this path”, Massano said.
To Massano, if the pace of the economy continues, and if external factors do not affect the country’s main export product, oil, or stability is maintained in the foreign exchange market and the supply of essential local and imported goods continues, then conditions are in place to reduce inflation.
“That is also our expectation”, Massano said, having admitted that in order to get there the Monetary Policy Committee would have to continue to maintain a restrictive policy.
For economic growth in 2023, the BNA expects the national economy to continue on its upward trend growing at a rate of around 3.3 percent.
In 2022, inflation was 13.8%, observing a sharp drop in the economy compared to 27.03% recorded in 2021.
In that period, 2022, there was a lower variation in prices in the economy, with a sharp drop in the prices of some products.
The behaviour of inflation was influenced by the monetary policy in progress, appreciation of the national currency in relation to foreign currencies, as well as the increase and regularity of the supply of widely consumed goods, especially foodstuffs.
Source: Angola Press News Agency