Angola's central bank maintained its benchmark BNA rate at 16.0 percent, saying its monetary policy committee had once again take note of the continuing downward trajectory in inflation, which began in January this year.
The National Bank of Angola (BNA), which has kept its rate steady since June 2016 when it raised it to the current level to curb inflation, also said preliminary data for July showed that credit to the economy rose by 1.75 percent from June while gross credit to the central government had dropped by 0.96 percent.
In June credit to the economy dropped 0.76 percent from May while gross credit to the central government had risen by 0.71 percent.
Angola's national inflation rate decelerated further to 27.29 percent in July from 30.51 percent in June for the seventh consecutive month of falling inflation since hitting 41.12 percent in December 2016.
Inflation, as measured in the province of Luanda, in the month of July was 1.77 percent compared with 1.58 percent in the previous month for an annual rate of 29.01 percent, down from 31.89 percent in June and 35.30 percent in July 2016, the BNA said.
Angola's inflation rate began accelerating in early 2015 as the fall in crude oil prices dented government revenue and foreign exchange earnings, weakening the kwanza's exchange rate and pushing up import prices and inflation.
The BNA has devalued the kwanza several times in recent years and has been quoting the kwanza around 165 per U.S. dollar since mid-April 2016. In January last year the central bank let the kwanza ease to around 155 from around 135, the rate it had targeted since September 2015.
Today the kwacha was quoted at 165.9 to the dollar.
In July the LUIBOR overnight rate, Angola's interbank rate, eased to 22.37 percent from 22.40 percent in June while the 3-month rate dropped to 20.12 percent from 20.15 percent and the 12-month rate rose to 24.25 percent from 24.44 percent.
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