West African States keeps rate, growth trending up

    The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) held its benchmark marginal lending rate steady at 3.75 percent, saying inflation remains moderate and economic growth is continuing its upward trend toward this year's target of 6.5 percent in the eight-nation West African Monetary Union (WAMU).
    The central bank's monetary policy committee, which met in Dakar on June 3, said in a statement that inflation eased to 2.3 percent at the end of April from 2.8 percent end-December due to a sharp drop in the price of local food and a small rise in petroleum product prices.
    "The medium-term outlook remains consistent with the objective of price stability in the EU. At the 24-month horizon, the inflation rate would be at 2.5% yoy," the central bank said.
   Interest rates in the money market have also eased, with the weighted average call rate on liquidity offers for one-week down to 2.81 percent in April from 3.07 percent in December.
    Economic growth last year was better than expected, the central bank said, with Gross Domestic Product volume expanding by 6.4 percent due to higher public investment, with spillover effects on private investment, and dynamic activity in the extraction industry.