Ghana: Bank of Ghana holds fire in March, meeting market expectations
At its 20–22 March meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) paused its loosening cycle and kept the policy rate at 29.00%. The hold, which followed January’s 100 basis point cut, had largely been priced in by markets.
The decision was driven by a slowing disinflation pace, as well as modest upside risks to the inflation outlook. Moreover, 2023 GDP growth was above the Bank’s target, and high-frequency indicators revealed the economy improved further in January; this allowed the BoG to maintain its currently restrictive monetary policy backdrop.
The BoG’s communiqué was void of explicit policy guidance. All of our panelists have penciled in further interest rate cuts by the end of 2024, although the spread is wide at 200–900 basis points.
The next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for 22–24 May, with the decision to be announced on 27 May.