Ondjiva: The stock of credit to the Angolan economy in national currency reached 6.24 billion kwanzas in February, marking a rise of 3.47% compared to January and a cumulative increase of 3.87% (232.77 billion kwanzas), according to the Central Bank of Angola (BNA).
According to Angola Press News Agency, the figures were disclosed in the final statement of the Monetary Policy Committee (CPM) of the BNA, which convened on March 17 and 18 in Ondjiva, Cunene, to evaluate key macroeconomic indicators. The BNA reported that international reserves stood at 15.34 billion US dollars during the period, providing coverage for 8.16 months of imports. The decline in reserves was attributed to financing granted to the National Treasury.
Regarding the national economy’s growth, the National Statistics Institute (INE) announced a GDP growth of 4.4% in 2024, driven by a 2.9% expansion in oil activities and a 4.9% increase in non-oil activities. The monthly inflation rate in February 2025 decreased to 1.59% from the previous month’s 1.67%, with food and non-alcoholic beverages contributing significantly to the total inflation.
Year-on-year inflation continued its downward trajectory for the seventh consecutive month, dropping to 25.26% from 26.48% in the previous month. The BNA anticipates this trend will persist due to the alignment of monetary conditions with economic growth levels and improved availability of essential products. Notably, 24 out of 732 products in the National Consumer Price Index matrix accounted for 48.92% of February’s inflation, contributing 0.78 percentage points.
The CPM meeting also resulted in a decision to reduce the interest rate on the Permanent Liquid Absorption Facility to 17.5%, aiming to stimulate the interbank foreign exchange market. Meanwhile, the BNA rate remained at 19.5% and the interest rate on the Permanent Liquidity Provision Facility at 20.5%.
Internationally, the economic landscape is marked by trade tensions among major economies, creating uncertainty in global economic activity and financial markets, negatively affecting energy and non-energy commodity prices. In February, the average price of Brent crude oil fell to USD 74.95 per barrel, a decline of 4.45% from the previous month, driven by expectations of a global oversupply. Leading agencies forecast this downward trend to continue until the end of 2025, revising their projections to values below 70 dollars per barrel.
