Africa-Press – Seychelles. The board of directors of the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) has decided to ease the monetary policy rate for the next three months from 2 percent to 1.75 percent, a senior official.
CBS First Deputy Governor Brian Commetant told reporters that this decision was made by the board during discussions on Monday and that other interests that the Central Bank decides, when it changes the policy monetary, will also change.
Mr. Commettant said the decision taken on monetary policy took into account external development and the economy of Seychelles.
“In general, domestic economic activities continue to recover but the level of uncertainty remains high, particularly with regard to international development which has a direct impact on Seychelles,” he added.
Mr. Commettant said that based on its assessment, CBS believes that the monetary policy interest rate reduction will help support economic activities in the coming months.
In his presentation, he also shared the different external economic perspectives, emphasizing that overall there is a moderation of monetary policies, with a reduction in inflation rates in the United States and the European Union area expected in the next months.
Additionally, CBS said in a press release that the high interest rate environment, coupled with lower international commodity prices and improving supply chains, has led to a moderation in inflationary pressures. in most regions.
“In January 2024, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised its global growth projections for the year from 2.9% to 3.1%. Despite this improved outlook, tight monetary conditions prevailing globally are expected to dampen economic activity in the near term. “, CBS said.
Domestically, as of March 17, CBS said Seychelles had welcomed a total of 81,421 tourists, an increase of 10 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
“This growth is mainly the result of increased visitor arrivals from traditional Western European markets, including Germany, Italy and Russia. Estimated tourism receipts increased by 22 percent over of the first two months of the year compared to the same period last year. Despite the “positive performance of the tourism sector, the gloomy economic outlook in the main tourism source markets as well as the aforementioned global challenges could have a negative impact on the national economy,” CBS said.
CBS said escalating attacks in the Red Sea, which could impact transit times and shipping costs, remain a global concern.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the annual inflation rate now stands at -0.25 percent, compared to 1.13 percent in February 2023.
Meanwhile, as of March 22, Seychelles’ gross international reserves stood at $737 million.
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