Accra, Ghana//-The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) today kept the policy rate at 14.0 per cent after the completion of its 130th meeting.
According to the committee, its assessment of domestic and external risks to Ghana’s inflation, which is currently at 3.4 per cent, revealed a broadly balanced situation.
The committee also pointed out that even though recent increases in fuel prices of fuel at the pumps could cause some challenges, there are enough mitigating measures to cushion the situation from escalating.
“Relative exchange rate stability, increasing reserve buffers, and continued fiscal discipline are expected to help moderate these upside risks”, the committee observed.
Providing more insight at the Bank Square in Accra, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Asiama, said the committee also considered recent gains in inflation moderation, exchange rate stability and improving investor confidence before deciding to keep the benchmark rate unchanged.
The decision means the central bank is maintaining its current monetary policy stance to sustain the disinflation process while supporting economic recovery.
The Governor noted that headline inflation has continued its downward trajectory in recent months, supported by tight monetary policy, fiscal consolidation measures and relative stability in the foreign exchange market.
He explained that, while inflationary pressures have eased considerably, risks remain from global commodity price movements, external economic uncertainties and domestic fiscal developments.
Dr Asiama also highlighted improvements in Ghana’s external sector performance, including stronger reserve accumulation and increased foreign exchange inflows, which have helped stabilise the cedi, as major factors considered in arriving at the decision to keep the policy rate unchanged.
The Monetary Policy Rate serves as the benchmark interest rate that influences borrowing costs for commercial banks, businesses and consumers across the economy.
Below is the full MPC press release
BANK OF GHANA MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE
PRESS RELEASE
20 May 2026
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held its 130th regular meeting from 18 to 20 May 2026 to review recent economic developments and assess risks to the outlook for inflation and growth.
This statement summarises the key discussions and the Committee’s decision on the Monetary Policy Rate. Since March 2026, global economic conditions have been shaped by the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The conflict has disrupted maritime and air traffic, increased energy prices, and heightened policy uncertainty. Against this backdrop, the IMF has revised down its 2026 global growth projection to 3.1 per cent from an initial estimate of 3.3 per cent.
The IMF also noted that further downward revisions are likely if the conflict is prolonged. The disruption to trade flows following the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has led to a sharp increase in international crude oil prices and reignited inflationary pressures in both advanced and emerging market economies.
Early indicators suggest that global headline inflation is beginning to accelerate, fuelled by higher energy and food prices and rising inflation expectations.
The expected resurgence in inflation may prompt central banks to raise policy rates, which could push long-term bond yields higher, tighten global financing conditions, and reverse portfolio flows to emerging market and developing economies. Domestically, economic activity strengthened in the first quarter of 2026.
The Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA), which tracks the Bank’s high-frequency indicators of real sector activity, expanded by 12.6 per cent year-on-year in March 2026, up from 2.3 per cent in March 2025.
The main drivers of the growth in the Index were credit to the private sector, consumption, industrial production, and international trade activities.
The latest surveys conducted in April 2026, however, indicated that both consumer and business confidence, though high, have softened compared with the February survey results.
This was largely due to concerns about the domestic implications of the ongoing Middle East conflict. Similarly, Ghana’s Purchasing Managers’ Index declined to 50.3 in April 2026 from 51.4 in March 2026, mainly reflecting higher input costs. Headline inflation inched up marginally to 3.4 per cent in April 2026, from 3.2 per cent in March, marking the first increase since December 2024.
The uptick was driven by non-food inflation, which increased to 4.2 per cent in April 2026 from 3.9 per cent in the preceding month, largely on account of base effects. Core inflation, which excludes energy and utility items, declined, indicating that underlying inflationary pressures continued to ease.
However, inflation expectations among consumers, businesses, and the financial sector edged up marginally but remained broadly anchored within the medium-term inflation target band. Growth in monetary aggregates moderated further in April 2026, largely reflecting the tight monetary policy stance.
Reserve money growth slowed significantly to 3.6 per cent in April 2026, compared to 38.0 percent growth a year earlier. Similarly, broad money supply expanded at a slower pace by 22.2 per cent, down from 26.7 per cent over the same period.
On the money market, interest rates on short-term instruments declined further, reflecting easing inflation expectations and the monetary policy stance. Yields on the benchmark 91-day Treasury bill fell to 4.9 per cent in April 2026, from 15.5 per cent a year earlier.
Similarly, the Ghana Reference Rate eased to 10.06 per cent in April 2026, compared to 23.99 per cent a year earlier. Average bank lending rates declined to 16.3 per cent from 27.4 per cent.
In line with this, private sector credit rebounded strongly in April, up by 28.7 per cent in nominal terms, compared with a 19.9 per cent growth in April 2025. In real terms, this represents a growth of 24.5 per cent compared to a contraction of 1.1 per cent over the same comparative period.
Provisional data showed that fiscal performance for January to March 2026 reflected strong expenditure containment measures amid revenue shortfalls. On a commitment basis, the fiscal balance recorded a surplus of 0.1 per cent of GDP, against the target deficit of 1.2 per cent.
The primary balance also recorded a surplus of 1.2 per cent of GDP, against a surplus target of 0.2 per cent. The public debt stock of the central government and guaranteed debt rose to GH¢674.1 billion (42.2% of GDP) at the end of February 2026 from GH¢641.1 billion (44.7% of GDP) at the end of December 2025.
Banking sector performance improved significantly. Total assets expanded by 26.6 per cent year-on-year to GH¢493.9 billion in April 2026, supported by deposits, domestic borrowings, and shareholders’ funds.
Asset growth was largely driven by investments, which rose sharply by 52.6 per cent in April 2026 relative to 27.8 per cent in the same period last year. Credit growth also rebounded as financial intermediation improved. The banking sector’s solvency position strengthened, alongside improvements in asset quality. The Capital Adequacy Ratio increased to 22.3 per cent in April 2026 compared with 17.5 per cent a year earlier.
The Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio also declined to 18.0 per cent from 23.6 per cent over the same comparative period, reflecting a rebound in bank credit and a reduction in the stock of NPLs. Nonetheless, elevated credit risk remains a key concern and requires banks’ strict adherence to the regulatory guidelines aimed at reducing non-performing loans in the industry.
The external sector remained resilient despite the early impact of heightened geopolitical tensions, which temporarily slowed gold export shipments in March and April 2026. In the first quarter of 2026, the current account surplus improved to US$3.10 billion, from US$2.43 billion in the same period in 2025.
This was primarily driven by robust gold and cocoa export earnings, alongside stable remittance inflows, despite the rise in payments for services and investment income.
Gross International Reserves (GIR) increased to US$14.4 billion as of May 18, 2026, equivalent to 5.7 months of import cover for goods and services, up from US$13.8 billion in December 2025.
Reserve accumulation continued to provide buffers to the foreign exchange market. In the interbank market, the cedi depreciated by 8.4 per cent against the US dollar in the year to May 15, 2026, largely due to demand from the energy sector and dividend payments by some corporate entities.
In taking the policy decision, the Committee acknowledged that ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have broadly weakened the global growth outlook, stoked inflationary concerns, and heightened policy uncertainty, with potential implications to the domestic economy through the trade and financial channels.
The data showed that although inflation had started rising in Advanced Economies, the spillovers to the domestic economy through the trade channel remained muted.
The Committee also noted that the domestic economy continues to recover, as evidenced by the strong outturn in the CIEA during the first quarter. Growth is projected to remain strong, supported by an expansion in private sector credit.
However, commodity price volatility and supply chain disruptions could pose downside risks to growth. Regarding price dynamics, inflation remained well below the lower limit of the medium-term target band.
Although headline inflation and expectations indicators picked up marginally, core inflation declined, indicating continued easing of underlying inflationary pressures.
The latest forecast suggested that inflation is expected to trend upward into the medium-term target band largely due to base drift effects related to exchange rate movements, food supply conditions, and transport fares.
Upside risks to the inflation outlook included the protracted Middle East crises, which could keep crude oil prices above US$100 per barrel and raise the prospect of petroleum price pass-through into domestic transport and utility costs.
The quarterly adjustment mechanism for utility tariffs could exert upward pressure on non-food inflation in the coming months. However, relative exchange rate stability, increasing reserve buffers, and continued fiscal discipline are expected to help moderate these upside risks.
Based on the above considerations, the Committee assessed risks in the outlook to inflation and growth as broadly balanced and decided to maintain the Monetary Policy Rate at 14.0 per cent.
The Committee will continue to monitor incoming data, in particular relating to potential spillover of the geopolitical tensions to the domestic economy and take appropriate policy actions when necessary.
Additional Measure
The Committee decided to amend the dynamic Cash Reserve Ratio to a uniform ratio of 20 per cent, maintained in the domestic currency, effective June 4, 2026.
Informational Note
The next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting is scheduled for July 20 – 22, 2026. The meeting will conclude on July 22, 2026, with the announcement of the policy decision.
