Staff Reporter
Windhoek-The Bank of Namibia’s Monetary Policy Committee has decided to leave the repo rate unchanged at 6.75 percent to continue supporting domestic economic growth, while maintaining the one-to-one peg with the South African rand. The repo rate determines interest rates at commercial banks as it is the rate at which they borrow from the central bank.
BoN also confirmed that the domestic economy is estimated to have remained weak in 2017, inflation and the rate of growth in private sector credit extension (PSCE) slowed while the stock of international reserves continues to be sufficient. The weak performance of the domestic economy, which is expected to gradually recover this year, was attributed to a decline in the construction and wholesale and retail trade sectors, coupled with slower growth in manufacturing, electricity and water as well as transport and communication.
Announcing the repo rate decision, the governor of the Bank of Namibia, Iipumbu Shiimi, said other key sectors, such as mining and agriculture, improved over the same period.
On the global front, growth for advanced economies are projected to continue a steady growth rate of 2.3 percent in 2018 while emerging market and developing economies are expected to expand by 4.9 percent in 2018.
“Risks to the global outlook remain and include amongst others: financial market corrections, faster than expected increases in advanced economies’ core inflation rates, high debt levels in some countries, policy and political uncertainties as well as extreme weather events,” said Shiimi.