Zambia holds rate steady, sees inflation risks moderating

    Zambia's central bank held its policy rate steady at 9.25 percent, saying in a brief statement that it had  noted the moderation in inflationary risks to inflation in March "mainly due to continued improvement in the supply of maize to millers by the Food Reserve Agency coupled with the expected increase in fish supply follow the lifting of annual fishing ban."
    The Bank of Zambia, which raised its policy rate by 25 basis points in 2012, also said a stable supply of vegetables was expected to moderate inflationary pressures.
    "This is in spite of some inflationary risks associated with the cost push pressures arising from lagged pass-through effects of the deprecation of the Kwacha," the bank said in a statement.
    The kwacha was rebased on January 1 and the central bank has been selling dollars in recent months to support the local currency.
     Zambia's inflation rate eased to 7.0 percent in January from 7.3 percent in December
   
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