Maputo, May 30, 2025 (Lusa) - The benchmark commerciallending rate in Mozambique - known as the prime rate - will remain unchanged at 18% in June, according to information from the Mozambican Banking Association (AMB).
The maintenance of the rate comes after the 50-percentage-point cut in May, and the AMB had already cut it by another 50 percentage points in March, when the rate went down to 18.5%, representing the fifth cut in six months. Only in February had the rate been held unchanged, at 19%, as it was then in April and now in June.
Since January 2024, the prime rate has been falling progressively, after six consecutive months at a high of 24.1%.
Fluctuations in the prime rate are linked to the monetary policy interest rate (MIMO rate, which influences the formula for calculating the prime rate) used by the central bank to control inflation.
On 26 March, the Monetary Policy Committee (CPMO) of the Bank of Mozambique decided to lower the MIMO monetary policy interest rate from 12.25%, in force since January, to 11.75%.
"This measure stems essentially from the maintenance of inflation prospects in the single digits in the medium term, notwithstanding the increase in uncertainties about the effects of the worsening fiscal risk," reads the final communiqué from the CPMO meeting, which takes place every two months.
The stock of credit to the Mozambican economy grew by 0.3% in March, to 284.964 million meticais (3.994 million euros), after the biggest monthly drop in a year in February, according to official figures reported this month by Lusa.
According to a statistical report by the Bank of Mozambique, this performance compares with 284.045 billion meticais (€3.981 billion) in February, representing a drop of almost 1%.
However, the volume of credit granted by Mozambican banks remains far from the historic peak of 290.973 billion meticais (€4.079 billion euros) in November 2024.
According to central bank data, loans to individuals continued to lead the way in March, rising to almost 99.386 billion meticais (€1.363 billion).
This was followed by the transport and communications sector, whose total credit granted by banks grew in March to 24.940 billion meticais (€350 million ), the manufacturing industry, with 22.314 billion meticais (€312.8 million), and trade, with 21.925 billion meticais (€307.5 million).
PVJ/ARO // ARO.
Lusa
