Economics
African Nations Are Already Hiking Rates With More to Come
- Nigeria, Angola, South Africa face inflationary pressures
- Nigeria most likely to raise benchmark interest rate in 2021
Photographer: Alfredo Zuniga/AFP/Getty Images
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Inflationary pressures and currency weakness could force central banks in some key African economies to tighten monetary policy, even as the slow rollout of coronavirus vaccines and new mutations of the disease pose risks to economic growth.
Mozambique and Zambia became the first two countries in the world to raise their benchmark interest rates this year, and Zimbabwe did the same on Thursday. Three of sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest economies -- Nigeria, South Africa and Angola -- could follow suit.