23.10.201911:56:00UTC+00Namibia Central Bank Holds Key Rate

Namibia's central bank maintained its key repo rate on Wednesday after cutting the rate by a quarter point in August.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Namibia left its key repo rate at 6.50 percent. The bank had reduced the rate by 25 basis points at the previous meeting in August.

"The MPC took this decision in order to continue supporting domestic economic activities and to maintain the one-to-one link between the Namibia Dollar and the South African Rand," the bank said in a statement.

Growth eased in the first eight months of 2019 reflecting the slowdown in mining, construction, wholesale and retail trade and agriculture, while the manufacturing sector improved. Domestic economy is projected to remain weak this year.

Policymakers noted that inflation eased to 3.3 percent in September from 3.7 percent in August. Overall inflation is forecast to average 3.9 percent this year.