Central Bank of Kenya’s Monetary Policy Committee met on 27 November 2018 and maintained the key lending rate at 9 per cent citing a relatively stable macroeconomic environment, despite pressure on the currency.
The MPC noted that the current foreign exchange reserves of $8.03bn is sufficient to cover any short-term shocks in the foreign exchange market. They also cited that inflation fell from previously 5.7 per cent to 5.3 per cent currently which was mainly driven by lower food prices that offset the increase in fuel costs.
Overall inflation which is expected to be well anchored within the government’s target range in the near term and the 6 per cent y/y GDP growth was cited by MPC as a reason to keep the lending rate unchanged.
