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Mauritius Holds Rate at Record Low; Sees GDP Growth at 4%

Mauritius Holds Rate at Record Low; Sees GDP Growth at 4%

(Bloomberg) -- Mauritius’s central bank held its key interest rate at a record low for a fifth meeting as inflation remained in check.

The Monetary Policy Committee kept the rate at 3.5 percent, Governor Yandraduth Googoolye told reporters Friday in the capital, Port Louis.

In keeping the rate at its lowest since the monetary-policy mechanism was adopted almost 12 years ago, the central bank is supporting an economy that hasn’t expanded at more than 4 percent a year since 2010. Annual inflation accelerated to 2.8 percent in October and the bank forecasts a price-growth rate of 3 percent for next year, barring major supply shocks, it said.

The Indian Ocean island nation’s economy will probably expand 4 percent next year, Googoolye said.

The current exchange rate reflects “more or less” the situation prevailing in the economy, he said. The rupee was at 34.52 per dollar at 4:34 p.m. in Port Louis.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kamlesh Bhuckory in Port Louis at kbhuckory1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Ana Monteiro

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