{"id":4164,"date":"2026-01-29T23:31:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T23:31:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/home\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts"},"modified":"2026-01-30T00:34:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T00:34:38","slug":"african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts","title":{"rendered":"African Economies Brace for Interest Rate Cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. <\/strong> <\/span>Attention is focused on the South African central bank\u2019s interest-rate decision, amid a sharp split among economists over the next move. While the country\u2019s main banking institution is expected to cut its 2026 inflation forecast to 3.3% from 3.5%\u2014close to its new 3% target\u2014analysts are divided over the outcomes of this policy, according to Bloomberg.<\/p>\n

Thirteen analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect rates to be kept unchanged at 6.75%, while eleven others predict a 25-basis-point cut.<\/p>\n

The disagreement centers on whether policymakers will wait for clearer signals from the rand (the local currency) and oil prices, or move now, buoyed by the currency\u2019s recent rise.<\/p>\n

The decision by Africa\u2019s largest economy will affect its neighbors Eswatini, Namibia, and Lesotho, whose currencies are pegged to the rand and are set to announce their own interest-rate decisions in the coming days.<\/p>\n

Major African economies, including Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya, are preparing to cut rates at their first policy meetings of the year, as price pressures continue to ease.<\/p>\n

Bloomberg quoted Angelika Goliger, Ernst & Young\u2019s chief economist for Africa, as saying: \u201cWith global growth expected to slow to around 3.1% this year, and with monetary stances diverging across advanced markets, African policymakers will need to balance the opportunity for monetary easing against persistent external vulnerabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Bloomberg, Socie\u0301te\u0301 Ge\u0301ne\u0301rale emerging-markets strategist Gergely Ormosi said: \u201cWe see scope for a 100-basis-point rate cut in Egypt, 25 basis points in Kenya, and 200 basis points in Nigeria.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ormosi added: \u201cDomestic inflation dynamics and inflation expectations allow for rate cuts, but the timing and size of these cuts are unclear, mainly due to potential shifts in global investor sentiment.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cWe expect that during 2026, rate cuts amounting to several hundred basis points will take place in Egypt, Ghana, and Nigeria, while we expect Kenya\u2019s terminal rate to reach 8.5%, with downside risks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mauritius and Uganda<\/b><\/p>\n

As for other countries making decisions during the month, including Mauritius and Uganda, they are likely to remain cautious and keep interest rates unchanged to further assess the inflation path.<\/p>\n

Ghana and Mozambique<\/b><\/p>\n

Ghana\u2019s central bank cut its policy rate\u2014on Wednesday\u2014by 250 basis points to 15.50%, while Mozambique\u2019s central bank reduced its rate from 9.50% to 9.25%.<\/p>\n

Inflation in Ghana\u2014the West African country\u2014fell to 5.4% in December, dropping below the central bank\u2019s lower target bound of 6% for the first time since 2019.<\/p>\n

In Mozambique, inflation is easing, while the real interest rate stands at 6.3%.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Federal Reserve\u2014on Wednesday\u2014kept interest rates unchanged at a range of 3.5% to 3.75% at the first meeting this year of the Open Market Committee responsible for monetary policy at the U.S. central bank.<\/p>\n

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference following the decision that the U.S. federal budget deficit is \u201con an unsustainable path,\u201d urging that it be \u201caddressed quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Africa<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. Attention is focused on the South African central bank\u2019s interest-rate decision, amid a sharp split among economists over the next move. While the country\u2019s main banking institution is expected to cut its 2026 inflation forecast to 3.3% from 3.5%\u2014close to its new 3% target\u2014analysts are divided over the outcomes of this policy, according to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":4162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[120],"class_list":{"0":"post-4164","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-africa"},"yoast_head":"\nAfrican Economies Brace for Interest Rate Cuts - Africa Press English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag"> Africa-Press. Attention is focused on the South African ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"African Economies Brace for Interest Rate Cuts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"-article-header-tag"> Africa-Press. Attention is focused on the South African ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Africa Press English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-29T23:31:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-30T00:34:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/01\/sm_1769733202.473172.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1556\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1167\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"African Economies Brace for Interest Rate Cuts\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-29T23:31:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-30T00:34:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts\"},\"wordCount\":495,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/01\/sm_1769733202.473172.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts\",\"name\":\"African Economies Brace for Interest Rate Cuts - Africa Press English\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/01\/sm_1769733202.473172.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-29T23:31:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-30T00:34:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"-article-header-tag\\\"> Africa-Press. Attention is focused on the South African ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/01\/sm_1769733202.473172.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/01\/sm_1769733202.473172.jpg\",\"width\":1556,\"height\":1167,\"caption\":\"African Economies Brace for Interest Rate Cuts\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"African Economies Brace for Interest Rate Cuts\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Africa Press English\",\"description\":\"\u0623\u0648\u0644 \u0645\u0648\u0642\u0639 \u0625\u0641\u0631\u064a\u0642\u064a \u064a\u0643\u062a\u0628 \u0628\u0644\u063a\u0629 \u0628\u0644\u062f\u0627\u0646\u0647\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"African Economies Brace for Interest Rate Cuts - Africa Press English","description":"-article-header-tag\"> Africa-Press. Attention is focused on the South African ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"African Economies Brace for Interest Rate Cuts","og_description":"-article-header-tag\"> Africa-Press. Attention is focused on the South African ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts","og_site_name":"Africa Press English","article_published_time":"2026-01-29T23:31:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-30T00:34:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1556,"height":1167,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/01\/sm_1769733202.473172.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"African Economies Brace for Interest Rate Cuts","datePublished":"2026-01-29T23:31:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-30T00:34:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts"},"wordCount":495,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/01\/sm_1769733202.473172.jpg","keywords":["Africa"],"articleSection":["Economy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts","name":"African Economies Brace for Interest Rate Cuts - Africa Press English","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/01\/sm_1769733202.473172.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-29T23:31:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-30T00:34:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"-article-header-tag\"> Africa-Press. Attention is focused on the South African ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/01\/sm_1769733202.473172.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/01\/sm_1769733202.473172.jpg","width":1556,"height":1167,"caption":"African Economies Brace for Interest Rate Cuts"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/african-economies-brace-for-interest-rate-cuts#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"African Economies Brace for Interest Rate Cuts"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/","name":"Africa Press English","description":"\u0623\u0648\u0644 \u0645\u0648\u0642\u0639 \u0625\u0641\u0631\u064a\u0642\u064a \u064a\u0643\u062a\u0628 \u0628\u0644\u063a\u0629 \u0628\u0644\u062f\u0627\u0646\u0647","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}