Mauritius Central Bank Holds Key Rate at Governor's First MPC

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of Mauritius Governor Yandraduth Googoolye opted to tread carefully at his first Monetary Policy Committee meeting, leaving its key lending rate unchanged at 3.5 percent.

The decision was by a majority of MPC members, Googoolye told reporters Wednesday in the capital, Port Louis.

The decision to keep the rate at its lowest level since the introduction of the monetary policy mechanism in 2007 to support growth that the central bank forecasts will expand 4 percent this year, compared with an estimated 3.9 percent in 2017. While the nation is grappling with increased food prices that pushed the inflation rate to the highest since June last month, Googoolye said Jan. 30 that expectations for price growth are contained, enabling the bank to stick to its accommodative monetary policy stance.

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