Finance and tax analyst, Nelson Cudjoe Kuagbedzi expects the Bank of Ghana to maintain its policy rate at 14 percent as the central bank concludes its 130th Monetary Policy Committee meeting today.
According to him, the expected decision reflects broader global monetary policy trends where many central banks are choosing to hold interest rates amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and inflation developments.
Mr. Kuagbedzi noted that major central banks across advanced economies have largely maintained their current policy stance.
“Looking at the global trend, which is mainly driven by geopolitical tensions, we expect the central bank not to hike, not to cut, but rather maintain the policy rate at 14 percent,” he said.
He pointed out that the European Central Bank kept its policy rate at 2 percent on April 30, marking its fifth consecutive hold, while the Federal Reserve in the United States also maintained its policy rate between 3.50 and 3.75 percent on April 29.
He added that the Bank of England has also kept its rate unchanged despite inflation remaining above target.
“The global central banks have just told us what to do. The European Central Bank held the policy rate at 2 percent on April 30 — that is actually the fifth consecutive hold,” he explained.
Mr. Kuagbedzi also noted that the Bank of Japan remains the only major central bank actively tightening policy, with expectations that its rate could reach about 1 percent by the end of the year.
He added that the Bank of Ghana will likely weigh the need to maintain price stability while supporting economic growth in determining the policy direction.
“The Bank of Ghana will certainly consider the balance between price stability and growth… and so we believe there is still more room to contain inflationary pressures,” he said.
The Bank of Ghana is expected to announce its decision later today following the conclusion of the 130th Monetary Policy Committee meeting.
