WINDHOEK: Bank of Namibia (BoN) Governor, Johannes !Gawaxab announced on Wednesday that the repo rate remains unchanged at 7.75 per cent.
!Gawaxab made these remarks in the capital, noting that on 23 and 24 October 2023, BoN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held its bi-monthly meeting to decide on the appropriate monetary policy stance to be implemented over the next two months.
To continue safeguarding the peg between the Namibian Dollar and South African Rand, while supporting the domestic economy, the MPC decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 7.75 per cent, he said.
“Namibia’s real GDP growth slowed during the second quarter of 2023, but economic activity remained firm year-to-date. Inflation edged up in September 2023, while Private Sector Credit Extension (PSCE) growth remained weak. The merchandise trade deficit improved, and the stock of international reserves remained sufficient to support the currency peg and meet the country’s international financial obligations,” !Gawaxab noted.
Furthermore, the Governor said the recently released quarter national accounts data indicate that the Namibian economy grew by 3.7 per cent during the second quarter of 2023. While still firm, it remains lower compared to 5.3 per cent observed during the first quarter of 2023 and 8.5 per cent in the corresponding period of 2022.
!Gawaxab said that growth is projected to decline to 3.3 per cent in 2023 from 7.6 per cent in 2022, on account of slower growth in the primary industry, following the significantly high base effects growth experienced by this industry in the previous year.
Moreover, since the previous MPC meeting, the annual growth in PSCE slowed further to 2.3 per cent in August 2023, from 3.0 per cent in June 2023. The slowdown in PSCE growth was attributed to lower demand and net repayments by the corporate sector, especially in the categories of mortgages and other loans, advances and overdrafts.
The unchanged repo rate will remain in place until the next MPC meeting in December 2023.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency
