Mozambique's central bank held its benchmark standing facility rate steady at 9.50 percent but said it would reduce the monetary base to 38.50 billion meticais by the end of January to help meet its 2013 goals of 6.5 percent inflation and 8.4 percent real economic growth.
The Bank of Mozambique (CPMO), which cut its key rate by 550 basis points in 2012, said inflation in southern Africa had been relatively stable due to good harvests, the decline in international commodity prices and a stable currency.
Mozambique's inflation rate eased to an annual rate of 2.02 percent in December from 2.33 percent in November.
In December the central bank said it would intervene in the interbank market to ensure that the monetary base expands to a maximum 40.5 billion meticais by the end of December.
The central bank said business confidence had continued the upward trend that it began in July 2012 and the average interest rate on commercial loans fell by 50 basis points to 21.49 percent in November. The bank said Mozambique's Gross Domestic Product fell by 1.3 percent in the third quarter from the second quarter for annual growth of 6.8 percent. In the second quarter, Mozambique's economy expanded by an annual rate of 8.0 percent.
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