By Elizabeth ADENUGA
The Central Bank of Kenya’s Monetary Policy Committee said on Tuesday that it had fixed its next rate-setting meeting for May 27.
The apex bank, in a statement in Nairobi, said that the meeting would decide if its benchmark lending rate at 9.0 per cent in March was still feasible.
At its last meeting in March, the central bank held its benchmark lending rate at 9.0 per cent, saying inflation expectations remained within the target range.
It was the fourth consecutive decision by the bank to keep rates on hold since September 2018.
Year-on-year inflation was down to 4.14 per cent in February from 4.7 per cent a month earlier, staying within the government’s preferred band of 2.5-7.5 per cent.
“The (Monetary Policy) Committee noted that inflation expectations remained well anchored within the target range and that the economy was operating close to its potential,’’ the bank said.
In January, the bank said the economy was expected to expand by 6.3 per cent this year, up from an estimated 6.1 per cent in 2018, driven by an expansion in agriculture and services.
The bank noted that it estimated the current account deficit to be 4.8 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year, down from an estimated 4.9 per cent of GDP in 2018, due to lower food and machinery imports. =====Reuters
