Central Banks

The Bureau of the Association of African Central Banks (AACB) held its first meeting of 2023 on 9th March 2023 in Dakar, Senegal, at the Headquarters of the Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Quest (BCEAO). The meeting was chaired by the AACB Chairperson, Governor Buah Saidy of the Central Bank of The Gambia, and attended by the Chairpersons and the Vice Chairs of the five sub-regions of the AACB. In attendance was the African Union Commission (AUC). Dr Ernest K.Y. Addison, Governor of Bank of Ghana and Chairman of West African sub-region of the AACB, represented the West…

Central banks aggressively hiked interest rates last year as inflation in many countries rose to the highest levels in decades. Now, falling energy prices are reducing headline inflation and fuelling optimism that monetary policy may be eased later this year.Such expectations have caused a sharp decline in global longer-term interest rates and boosted financial markets in advanced economies and emerging markets alike. Though this may make it tempting to conclude that monetary policy is becoming overly restrictive and poised to cause an unnecessary economic contraction, investors may be too sanguine about progress on disinflation. While headline inflation has indeed fallen,…