Interest rates surpass 20% mark to reflect Monetary Policy increase
Interest rates have surpassed 20% mark to reflect the recent increase in the Monetary Policy Rate by the Bank of Ghana.
Also, government missed its Treasury bill auctioning target narrowly, indicating the tight liquidity on the money market.
The 91-day Treasury bill was sold at a rate of 19.93%, whilst the interest rates of the 182-day and one-year bills were pegged at 22.94% and 24.46% respectively.
This confirmed the recent increase in the Bank of Ghana’s key lending rate to 19% to help control inflation and bring stability to the monetary economy.
Obviously, this will push lending rates further up to about 25% on the average, and increase the cost of living and doing business.
However, some banks would lend to individuals and businesses at high as 32% per annum, depending on the risk profile of the clients.
Meanwhile, despite the jump in interest rates, government failed narrowly to achieve 100% subscription of the recent Treasury bills sale.
It secured ¢1.15 billion, against a target of ¢1.28 billion.
This indicates the tight liquidity still persisting on the secondary market.
| Securities | Bids Tendered (GH¢) | Bids Accepted (GH¢) | Interest rate |
| 91 Day Bill | 877.50 million | 877.50 million | 19.938% |
| 182 Day Bill | 150.54 million | 145.49 million | 22.949% |
| 364 Day Bill | 129.33 million | 101.51 million | 24.463% |
| Total | 1.157 billion | 1.124 billion | |
| Target | 1.282 billion |
Source: Ghana News
