Zambia central bank holds key rate, citing impact of drought

2024.08.14 05:51

LUSAKA (Reuters) -Zambia’s central bank held its benchmark lending rate at 13.50% in a decision announced on Wednesday, citing the economic impact of a severe drought among other factors.

The central bank’s decision follows six successive monetary policy meetings at which the policy rate was raised.

So far this year it implemented a 100-basis-point (bps) hike in May and a 150 bps increase in February.

Inflation has been rising in Zambia since the middle of last year, reaching 15.4% year on year in July this year, fuelled by a slide in the local kwacha currency and the worst drought in the Southern Africa region in decades.

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