Angola holds rate but cuts reserve requirement to 12.5%

    Angola's central bank maintained its policy rate at 9.25 percent but cut the reserve requirement ratio for local currency deposits to 12.5 percent from 15.0 percent to "increase the financial resources available for lending to the economy, as well as continue to influence the reduction of the costs of financial intermediation."
    The National Bank of Angola, which cut rates by 100 basis points in 2013, kept the reserve requirement for foreign currency deposits unchanged at 15.0 percent.
    The central bank's monetary policy committee, which met on Jan. 27, said the latest estimates indicate real Gross Domestic Product growth of around 7.4 percent for the country's economy in 2013, up from 5.2 percent in 2012, with an emphasis on the continued growth in the non-oil sector.
    Angola's inflation rate eased to 7.69 percent in December from 7.94 percent in November and 9.02 percent in December 2012, as inflation continues to drop since hitting a recent high of 16.08 percent in October 2010.
    The central bank also said Angola's international reserves fell by 5.73 percent to US$ 33.17 billion in December from November. It did not give any reason for the decline.

    www.CentralBankNews.info