Africa-Press – Angola. The National Bank of Angola (BNA) forecasts, by the end of 2023, an inflation rate of between 9 and 11%, approaching the recommended rate in the SADC Region.
Even with this forecast, the governor of the BNA, José de Lima Massano, considers it still too high.
The inflation target for SADC countries is 4 to 6%, values that will not be observed until the end of 2023, in Angola.
Currently, the BNA basic interest rate has increased from 19.5% to 18%, still above the inflation rate, which is currently at 13.8%.
Speaking at a press conference after the Monetary Policy Committee (CPM) meeting, Lima Massano defended the need to work harder to reduce inflation, an exercise that, in his opinion, should not be taken from the point of view of “strangulation” of the economy .
“If the current situation remains unchanged, we have the conditions to continue on this path”, said José Massano.
For the official, if the pace of the economy is maintained, if external factors do not affect the country’s main export product, oil, if stability is maintained in the foreign exchange market and the continued supply of essential goods, whether of national production whether imported, there are conditions to take the path of reducing inflation.
“That is also our expectation. What we have in terms of projections is also what it tells us”, he advanced, admitting that, in order to get there, the Monetary Policy Committee will have to continue to maintain the restrictive policy.
For economic growth in 2023, the BNA predicts that the national economy will continue on its upward path, growing at a rate of around 3.3%.
In 2022, inflation had a variation of 13.8%, with a sharp drop in the economy to the 27.03% recorded in 2021.
In that period, 2022, there was less variation in prices in the economy, with a sharp drop in the prices of some products.
The behavior of inflation was influenced by the ongoing monetary policy, appreciation of the national currency against foreign currencies, as well as the increase and regularity of the supply of broad consumer goods, with emphasis on food goods.
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