- Decision
- Maintain
- Rate change
- 0 bps
- key policy rate
- 17.5%
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Congo on 17 December 2025 kept its policy rate unchanged at 17.5 percent but eased liquidity conditions by cutting reserve-requirement ratios: for foreign-currency deposits to 11.5 percent on demand deposits and 10.5 percent on time deposits (from 13 percent and 12 percent, respectively) and for local-currency demand deposits to 10.5 percent (from 12 percent), while leaving the ratio on local-currency time deposits at 0 percent; the released funds will come from reserves crystallised at end-December 2021. The policy rate stands 750 bp below the 25 percent level maintained at the July 2025 meeting. The adjustments follow a sharp drop in annual inflation to 2.07 percent as of 12 December from 6.17 percent on 7 October and aim to ease a liquidity shortfall after banks’ free reserves fell to CDF 624 bn on 16 December from CDF 1.159 trn at end-November. The franc continued to firm, reaching 2,253.49 CDF/USD on the official market and 2,302.19 CDF per USD on the parallel market—gains of 6.4 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively, since 7 October—supported by tighter liquidity management and a more transparent FX market. The committee will hold its next ordinary meeting in January 2026 and urged businesses to settle transactions in local currency to capitalize on the current market dynamics.
Rate evolution
The Central Bank of the Congo shifted from a broadly restrictive stance to easing, with the policy rate falling 1,000 basis points from 25% in July 2025 to 15.0% in January 2026 after a fourth-quarter pivot toward accommodation. In July, it held the rate as macroeconomic stability strengthened, inflation slowed and the Congolese franc stabilised, but it still stressed prudence because of rising uncertainty from armed conflict and global geopolitical and trade tensions. By late 2025, disinflation had intensified and the franc appreciated markedly as foreign-exchange intervention, reserve-requirement reform, a more transparent foreign-exchange market and better liquidity management took effect, prompting lower reserve requirements to address tighter bank liquidity while the policy rate was kept at 17.5% in December. In January, with inflation at 2.27%, well below the 7.0% medium-term objective, and growth judged robust, the committee cut the policy rate by 250 basis points and said easing begun in the last quarter of 2025 would continue, while projecting controlled inflation and exchange-rate stability but still monitoring geopolitical tensions, tariffs and liquidity closely.