- Decision
- Lower
- Rate change
- 100 bps
- BNA rate
- 17.5%
The Monetary Policy Committee of the National Bank of Angola cut the key BNA rate by 100 bp to 17.5 % and lowered the standing lending facility rate to 18.5 %, while leaving the liquidity-absorption facility at 16.5 %, citing a sustained slowdown in inflation that brought December 2025 consumer-price growth down to 15.70 %, already below the 17 ±0.5 % end-2025 objective and expected to keep easing in the months ahead. This latest move extends the easing cycle that has taken the policy rate down by a cumulative 200 bp since September 2025, when it stood at 19.5 %. The new corridor is set at 16.5–18.5 %, and the central bank reiterated that liquidity conditions remain aligned with economic activity. Non-oil output expansion helped lift GDP by 2.15 % in the first three quarters of 2025, and the bank estimates full-year growth at 2.6 %, with credit to the economy in local currency up 22.6 % y/y to AOA 7.37 tn. On the external front, a 23 % rise in primary-market FX supply to USD 9.69 bn supported exchange-rate stability, while international reserves edged up to USD 15.9 bn, covering 7.6 months of imports despite a 38 % narrowing of the goods-trade surplus to USD 14.0 bn. Global disinflation, softer commodity prices and heightened trade and geopolitical tensions framed the decision, with Brent averaging USD 68.33/bbl in 2025 and projected around USD 60 in 2026. The central bank forecasts end-2026 inflation at 13.5 % alongside GDP growth of about 3.5 %, and its next policy meeting is scheduled for 11–12 March 2026.
Rate evolution
From July 2025 to September 2026, the National Bank of Angola cut the policy rate by 475 basis points to 14.75%, after a hold at 19.5%, reductions through January 2026, a pause in March and renewed easing in May, July and September. The move from July 2025’s hold to the September-November-January easing cycle was driven by a consistent slowdown in inflation, supported by greater availability of consumer goods, liquidity conditions judged appropriate for economic activity and exchange-rate stability, with the Committee adding that monetary indicators pointed to lower short-term inflation pressures.
That easing was tempered by recurring references to international uncertainty, first around administered-price adjustments and external accounts, and then around intensifying geopolitical tensions and oil prices, prompting a prudent hold in March despite further disinflation. The Bank resumed cutting in May after judging the inflation trajectory and short-term outlook favourable, and in July cited continued disinflation across the country and no visible inflationary pressures in the coming months despite diesel and electricity price adjustments and base money growth linked mainly to the Treasury’s clearance of 2025 arrears to companies. In September, it lowered the policy rate by 100 basis points and cut the reserve requirement ratio in domestic currency to 16.5%, citing progress in inflation and its short- and medium-term outlook. Annual inflation declined to 8.78% in August, while the Bank maintained its end-2026 inflation projection at 8.6% with a margin of plus or minus 1 percentage point and raised its GDP growth forecast to 6.15% on stronger non-oil activity.