Uganda Central Bank Keeps Interest Rate at Record Low of 9%

KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Uganda’s central bank maintained the benchmark interest rate at a record low as risks to the east African nation’s inflation outlook remain balanced.

The key rate was kept at 9 percent, Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile told reporters Monday in the capital, Kampala.

Inflation slowed to 2 percent in March, the weakest level since 2014, and the risks to the outlook for price growth in Africa’s biggest coffee exporter are balanced, he said.

The bank forecasts inflation will accelerate to 5 percent by the end of 2019, Tumusiime-Mutebile said. Gross domestic product expansion will average 6.5 percent in the next three years because of improved agricultural productivity and strong investments, he said.