The repo rate will remain unchanged at 7.75% for the upcoming two months.

This announcement was made by Bank of Namibia (BoN) Governor Johannes !Gawaxab during the monetary policy declaration at Oshakati.

The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee held its bi-monthly meeting on the 14th and 15th of August this year and decided on the appropriate monetary policy stance to be implemented over the next two months.

The decision was taken to uphold the stability of the peg between the Namibian dollar and the South African Rand and to bolster the domestic economy.

"Namibia's real GDP growth picked up during the first quarters of 2023 and has remained robust year to date. Inflation pressures softened in July 2023, while the Private Sector Credit Extension's (PSCE) growth remained weak. The merchandise trade deficit narrowed, and the stock of international reserves remained sufficient to support the currency peg and meet the country's international financial obligations," said !Gawaxab.

According to the recently released quarterly national accounts data, the Namibian economy expanded by 5% during the first quarter of 2023, a growth rate higher than the 2.1% recorded in the final quarter of 2022.

"The improved growth was widely spread across the various sectors of the economy. Similarly, year to date, the Namibian economy has continued with its positive momentum, as reflected in increased activity in the mining, livestock marketing, wholesale and retail trade, communication, and tourism sectors."

Moving forward, real Gross Domestic Product growth is expected to decelerate to about 3.3% in 2023, in contrast to the 4.6% achieved in 2022.

This shift is attributed to the reduced growth pace in the primary industry.

"Namibia's average inflation rate rose to 6.2% during the first seven months of 2023, relative to 5.3% during the corresponding period in 2022. The rise in average consumer prices continued to be predominantly driven by food and housing price inflation."

!Gawaxab stated that on a monthly basis, annual inflation decreased to 4.5% in July 2023, down from 5.3% recorded in June.

The prime lending rate remains unchanged at 11.5%.