The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met on 29th November 2017 and decided to maintain the repo rate at 3.5%. This rate will prevail until the Committee’s next meeting scheduled for 28th February 2018.

The MPC’s principle function is to determine the monetary policy if the central bank to maintain price stability. Members of the MPC came to this decision after taking into account various factors which may influence both monetary stability and price stability. These include the inflation rate from a global level, which is estimated at 3.7% for 2018; relatively stable fuel prices; expected GDP growth estimated at 4%; growth of 7% of the volume of credit sought by operators in the private sector; excess liquidity which has worsened due to the injection of Rs 13 billion into the monetary system; the currency market which is flooded with American Dollars which causes the central bank’s reserves to increase by USD 5.5 billion; the appreciation of the Rupee compared to the Dollar; a decre ase in the export of goods and services (Rs 10 billion, i.e. about USD 296 million), while revenue from the tourism sector has reached Rs 10 billion (about USD 296 million).