The answer has to do with "the depreciation that the kwanza registered last year, mainly in the months of May and June. In the overall calculation of 2023, the kwanza registered a depreciation of 39 percent, which ends up being quite significant", the governor told Lusa, on the sidelines of the 2024 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank that took place last week in Washington.
"We think that market operators, taking into account what happened last year and the expectations they have about what could happen in 2024, understand that transactions should be carried out at the current level", he added.
"In any case, contrary to what many observers think, the exchange rate has registered slight fluctuations, either upwards or downwards, but not on the magnitude that we registered last year", he further noted.
The governor stressed that the determination of the exchange rate does not require any intervention from the Central Bank, depending on the balance that may exist between demand and supply.
Regarding projections for this year, the BNA maintains its forecast of an inflation rate of around 19 percent, taking into account the evolution of prices of 20 percent last year, as well as the prevailing conditions, mainly in the month of March, "when the BNA Monetary Policy Committee met and looked at the various indicators", ending up maintaining, "for now", the inflation outlook of 19 percent.
Manuel Tiago Dias said that at this meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, a change was made to the main interest rates, setting the rate for the liquidity provision facility at 19.5 percent, the rate for the liquidity absorption facility at 17.5 percent and the policy rate (known as the BNA rate) at 18.5 percent.
The BNA Monetary Policy Committee will meet again next May, when it will review the various indicators, both internal and external.
Regarding the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, the governor told Lusa that expectations of Angolan participation revolved around the "main mission, which has to do with price stability in the economy".
The "stability of the Angolan financial system" was also the focus of the presence of the Angolan delegation in Washington, where the Minister of Finance, Vera Daves, was also present.
Angolan officials had several meetings "both with international partners and bilateral partners", and focused on exchanging experiences and information, the governor of the National Bank of Angola said in the interview with Lusa.
