Monetary Policy Committee – Windhoek Observer

16 Oct

Decline in consumer inflation attributed to repo rate cut

ObserverObserver Moneydrop in consumer inflation, Monetary Policy Committee

Martin Endjala The Bank of Namibia has reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points, lowering it from 7.50% to 7.25%, a move attributed to the drop in consumer inflation, which fell to 3.4% in September. According to economist Josef Sheehama, who responded to the Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) announcement, lower fuel prices, driven by declining oil prices and a stronger Namibian dollar, have been key factors in this cooling of inflation. "The interest rate cut will undoubtedly relieve pressure on all Namibians," Sheehama said. He believes the decrease in consumer inflation influenced the MPC’s decision to lower the repo…

BoN expected to raise rates …Cost of living becoming expensive

ObserverNational NewsBoN expected to raise rates, Cost of living becoming expensive, Monetary Policy Committee, The Forward Rate Agreement (FRA)

Tujoromajo Kasuto With South Africa’s Monetary Policy Committee having raised their repo rate by 50 basis points, economist from local research firm Simonis Storm, Theo Klein expects the Namibia Central Bank to follow suit with a hike of the same margin when the Monetary Policy Committee meets on 15 June. Similar to other emerging markets, Namibia has a negative short-term real interest rate and a sizable positive real interest rate, Klein said. Thus, short term rates represent central bank policy rates less current headline inflation, whereas long term rates are 10-year government bond yields less inflation. Additionally, this is subsequent…

Bank Windhoek cuts interest rates

ObserverUncategorisedBank of Namibia (BoN), Bank Windhoek, Monetary Policy Committee

Staff Writer In response to the announcement by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Namibia (BoN) to cut the Repo rate from 4.25 percent to 4 percent as announced on 17 June 2020, Bank Windhoek has announced a reduction of its Prime Lending Rate by 0.25 percent from 8 percent to 7.75 percent. The bank’s Mortgage Lending Rate will decrease from 9 percent to 8.75 percent, effective from Tuesday, 23 June 2020. “While the possibility of more cuts cannot be ruled out at this point, we expect that the benefit from the sharp cuts will gradually alleviate the…