NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s central bank raised its benchmark lending rate by 75 basis points to 8.25% on Thursday, the bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) said, citing persistent inflationary risks.
Policymakers raised the rate for the first time since 2015 in May this year, when they hiked by 50 basis points, before holding it at their last meeting in July.
In a Reuters poll of economists, four forecast a hike of 50 basis points on Thursday, two expected a 100 basis point rise and five thought the rate would be held.
“The committee noted the sustained inflationary pressures, the elevated global risks and their potential impact on the domestic economy,” the MPC said in a statement.
Kenya’s consumer inflation rose to 8.5% in August. It stands above the government’s preferred band of 2.5%-7.5%.
(Reporting by Duncan Miriri and George Obulutsa; Editing by Alexander Winning)
