Monetary Policy

Zimbabwe urges swift adoption of new but ‘scarce’ currency

Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has ordered all government agencies to accept payments in the newly introduced gold-backed currency amid reports of acute shortage. Ncube in a statement said the Zimbabwe Gold, introduced last month, was now the official unit of exchange for transactions in the country. He the BBC that the government would soon introduce regulations to ensure businesses stick to the official rate.

9 May, 2024

Local

Bank of Namibia strengthens collaboration with central banks in the region

The governor of the Bank of Namibia, Mr. Johannes !Gawaxab, recently embarked on a diplomatic visit to foster enhanced collaboration and cooperation with central banks in the region. Accompanied by a technical team from the bank’s financial markets, strategy, projects & transformation, research, and international relations departments, the governor visited the Bank of Ghana, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, and the Bank of Botswana at the end of […]

24 April, 2024

Africa

Kenya’s shilling is gaining value, but don’t expect it to last – expert

By Odongo Kodongo, University of the Witwatersrand Shortly after Kenya’s 2022 elections, the shilling depreciated rapidly against the US dollar – the country’s main currency for international transactions – fuelling a wave of political discontent. More than a year later, the Central Bank of Kenya, taking its cue from the International Monetary Fund, said that the run on the shilling was a market correction for a […]

17 April, 2024

Africa

Zimbabwe’s banks caught off guard by new gold-backed currency

The Zimbabwe Gold officially started trading just days after it was announced it would replace the Zimbabwean dollar, which has tumbled in value over the past year, pushing inflation through the roof. But many in the country were not ready for the switch. Eddie Cross an economist from Zimbabwe says even the banks haven’t been fully able to translate their accounting systems.

10 April, 2024

Africa

Twin rate cuts set Mozambique apart as African currency rally

By Seth Onyango, bird story agency Mozambique’s central bank has decisively cut its benchmark lending rate to 15.75% from 16.5%, setting a precedent as the first African country to slash rates twice in 2024. The move highlights Maputo’s aggressive push for economic growth amid a wider trend of cooling inflation and currency stability against the US dollar across Africa. Rate cuts in the southeastern African nation, prompted […]

8 April, 2024

Business / Economics

South Africa’s Reserve Bank keeps repo rate unchanged

The South African Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 8.25 percent. This keeps the prime lending rate in SA at 11.75 percent. SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago.

27 March, 2024

Africa

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger hint at a new west African currency: what it’ll take for it to succeed

By Thierno Thioune, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar On 11 February 2024, the head of Niger’s ruling military junta, General Abdourahmane Tiani, spoke of the possible creation of a common currency with Burkina Faso and Mali. “The currency is a first step toward breaking free from the legacy of colonisation,” he said on national TV, referring to the CFA franc inherited from French colonisation. Burkina Faso, […]

15 March, 2024

Africa

Inflation in Nigeria is still climbing while it has slowed globally: here’s why

By Stephen Onyeiwu, Allegheny College Just as Nigerians were gradually digging out from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were hit by high inflation. The Nigerian economy contracted by 6.1% at the peak of COVID in the second quarter of 2020. Unemployment rate rose from 27% in the second quarter of 2020 to 33% in the fourth quarter of the same year. The World Bank estimated […]

14 March, 2024

Videos

IMF urges vigilance on monetary policy

https://youtu.be/UG1rZkT_FsQ The IMF is urging vigilance on monetary policy globally and says the job is not yet done when it comes to keeping inflation in check despite some weakening in key economies, a spokesperson for the Fund said Thursday (February 22) in Washington, DC. “Broadly speaking, because inflation has been coming down, but it's not yet at target or close enough to target our line, or our view remains the […]

23 February, 2024