Angola holds rate steady at 10%, inflation drops further

    Angola's central bank held its main policy rate steady at 10.0 percent as inflation continued to drop and the exchange rate remained stable.
    The National Bank of Angola (BNA), which cut its rate by 25 basis points in January, said the monthly inflation rate in April was 0.6 percent, down from 0.66 percent in March, for an annual rate of 9.0 percent, down from 9.1 percent.
    The BNA has for many years strived for an inflation rate below 10 percent and since August 2012 inflation has remained below that level.
    The central bank also said credit to the economy rose by 0.18 percent in April and the average interest rate on credit of 181 days in local currency rose to 12.53 percent for retailers and declined to 13.7 percent for the corporate sector.
    The average exchange rate for the kwanza against the U.S. dollar was 96.045 at the end of April compared with 95.98 at the end of March. During April the central bank sold US $1,980 million to the market for a total of $6,232 million in the first four months.
    In 2012 Angola's economy grew by 7.4 percent and the International Monetary Fund projects growth of 6.2 percent this year.

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