ACCRA, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The monetary policy committee of the Bank of Ghana announced Friday its decision to maintain the country's benchmark policy rate at 16 percent.
"The pass-through effect of the exchange rate depreciation is waning, and the underlying inflationary pressures, as well as inflation expectations, are well-anchored," Governor of the Bank of Ghana Ernest Addison said.
Ghana passed a fiscal consolidation law in 2018, setting a five-percent cap on the annual budget deficit.
However, Addison said if steps were not taken to strengthen expenditure controls, that could pose risks to macroeconomic stability.
"We expect that some corrective measures will feature in the mid-year budget review to address the financing gap challenges as well as manage the risks from the large unbudgeted energy sector-related payments," he said.
With the stable policy rate, the governor said, he expected that lending institutions would also have stable lending rates for businesses to help induce economic growth and job creation.
