The governor of the BNA, Tiago Dias, was speaking at the end of the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, which decided to keep its main interest rate (BNA) unchanged at 18 percent, the interest rate on the permanent liquidity provision facility, in 18 .5 percent, and the interest rate on the permanent liquidity absorption facility at 17.5 percent.
As for the coefficient of mandatory reserves in national currency, it rises to 20 percent with "the aim of adapting the level of liquidity to economic activity and mitigating inflationary pressures", said the governor of the central bank.
Regarding the fact that interest rates will be maintained, Tiago Dias recalled that there was a change in October and considered that there is a lag between the taking of monetary policy measures and their impact on the economy, which is why they are still in an "observation period".
The BNA governor highlighted, in relation to 2023, a very substantial reduction in imports, particularly of food goods, considering that it will also contribute to the promotion of national production of food products.
In 2023, the inflation rate reached 20 percent, which compares with 13.86 percent in the previous year, with monthly inflation reaching 2.42 percent in December, with the greatest variations occurring in the food and non-alcoholic beverages, various goods and services and health.
In 2023, there was a surplus balance in the goods account of 20.9 billion dollars, below the 32.8 billion dollars recorded in 2022, a reduction of 36 percent, reflecting the decrease in export revenues by 28 percent.
The value of imports decreased by 12.6 percent, from 17 billion dollars to 15 billion dollars, with emphasis on imports of food products, whose quantities decreased by 33 percent.
The stock of net international reserves reached 14.73 billion dollars in December, similar to the previous year, with a coverage level of 8.39 months of imports of goods and services.
The next CPM meeting will take place in Bengo on March 14th and 15th.
