- Decision
- Lower
- Rate change
- 50 bps
- BNA rate
- 17%
The Monetary Policy Committee (CPM) of the National Bank of Angola (BNA) cut the key BNA Rate by 50 bp to 17.0 % and lowered the overnight lending and deposit facility rates to 18.0 % and 16.0 %, citing sustained disinflation and benign short-term price prospects. This follows cumulative easing of 250 bp from 19.5 % since September 2025. April’s headline inflation slowed to 11.58 % y/y from 12.42 % in March despite a slight uptick in the monthly rate to 0.58 %, prompting the CPM to trim its 2026 inflation forecast to 11.5 % while keeping its 2026 GDP growth projection at 3.5 %. Banking-system liquidity surged, with free reserves rising 60.9 % in April as base money and M2 expanded 2.98 % and 8.25 % respectively, yet the committee judged inflation risks to remain contained. The goods account surplus widened to USD 6.97 bn in January–April, and international reserves stood at USD 15.82 bn, covering 7.5 months of imports. The CPM noted that Middle East geopolitical tensions have pushed oil above USD 100/bbl and dampened the IMF’s 2026 global growth outlook to 3.1 %, but reaffirmed its commitment to monitor internal and external risks to price stability.
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.