Bank of Ghana holds policy rate at 14% for a third straight meeting as inflation edges up

Pinned summary · as of 06:13

The central bank's rate-setting committee left the benchmark at 14% on Thursday, 24 September, after two days of talks in Accra. Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama presented the outcome, the third hold in a row, at a time when consumer price inflation has crept up to 5.0% but still sits below the bank's target range.

What we know

• All members of the Monetary Policy Committee backed keeping the rate at 14% at their 132nd regular meeting, held on 23 and 24 September 2026. That makes three consecutive decisions to hold.
• The benchmark has stood at 14% since March 2026, and the committee also left it there in July.
• Dr Asiama announced the outcome at a press briefing in Accra on Thursday, 24 September, after opening the meeting the day before. It was the committee's first sitting since Ghana entered its three-year IMF Policy Coordination Instrument.
• Consumer price inflation reached 5.0% in August, up from 4.6% in July, and remains beneath the bank's target range of 8% plus or minus two points. Non-food inflation climbed to 6.8% from 6.1%, which the Governor linked to utility tariff changes and dearer crude oil, while the bank's core measure eased slightly to 4.2% from 4.3%.
• The committee described the domestic economy as resilient. Output grew by 6.0% in the second quarter of 2026, private-sector credit growth reached 35.5% in August, and average lending rates dropped to 15.9%, against 24.2% twelve months earlier.
• Dr Asiama said the committee saw the outlook for prices and growth as evenly balanced. He and the committee named dearer crude oil, higher utility tariffs, Middle East tensions and global supply-chain strain as sources of inflation risk.
• Speaking at the opening session, the Governor said GoldBod had stopped gold exports since mid-August, and that this weighed on efforts to build up reserves.
• The banking sector was described as solvent, profitable and liquid, and reports also noted that the cedi has faced fresh pressure in recent weeks.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  The Vaultz News reported Dr Asiama as saying on Thursday that gold shipments had restarted and GoldBod exported a large volume the week before. That contrasts with his earlier remark about a pause, and no other report carries the update.
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  Figures for the country's reserves differ. The Ghana Report quoted the Governor as putting import cover at about 4.2 months, while Ghana Business News gave US$12 billion, or 4.5 months, as of 22 September. Onua Online cited a last-reported level of about US$14.5 billion, equal to 5.8 months in February.
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  The Ghana Report attributed to the Governor a climb in inflation over five months, starting from a March reading of 3.2%; no other report gives the March figure.
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  Before the decision, economists were divided, according to The Ghana Report. Some expected a hold, while others foresaw a possible increase. Professor Peter Quartey later called the hold appropriate but said the bank could have weighed a hike, which he warned would raise costs for firms.
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  The market research firm IC Insights predicted, ahead of the meeting, that the rate would stay put and put the real policy rate at 9.0%. The Vaultz News also listed rate rises by the Federal Reserve in Washington, the European central bank and Japan's central bank, and Ghana Business News quoted the Governor on the same trend; neither has been matched by a second independent report.
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  Ghana Business News reported the Governor's figures on the trade surplus (US$8.85 billion by August), a budget deficit of 0.2% of GDP for the first seven months and public debt at 45.9% of GDP. The Vaultz News repeated the trade numbers, but no other report confirms the fiscal and debt data.
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  Onua Online reported that the ratio of non-performing loans fell to 15.7%; the figure comes from one report and has not been matched elsewhere.

Why it matters for Ghana

A steady policy rate means banks' benchmark borrowing costs are unchanged for now, which affects what businesses and households in Accra, Kumasi and elsewhere pay on loans. Lending rates have come down sharply over the past year, so traders and firms will watch whether that relief holds. Higher fuel and utility bills, which the bank linked to inflation, hit trotro fares and market prices, while a shortfall in gold earnings and reserves bears on the cedi's stability.