At a press conference held yesterday at the Bank’s conference room, Governor Saidy explained that global economic growth had lost momentum since the last MPC meeting in August 2023 with a slowdown in the manufacturing, trade, and services sectors.
This, he said, is attributed to the still-elevated inflation, high borrowing costs, moderate growth prospects in China, and intensified geopolitical tensions.
Governor Saidy further stated that The Gambia economy has continued its strong recovery path, aided by robust consumer demand, recovery in tourism, and buoyant public and private sector investments. He reiterated that the Bank’s Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) indicates a growth of 6.6% in the third quarter of 2023, higher than the 5.2% recorded in the previous quarter.
“Central Bank of The Gambia staff forecast economic growth at 5.3% for 2023, representing a 0.2% point upward revision from the August 2023 forecast. The revision reflects a stronger than expected rebound in tourism, better cropping season, and robust public and private consumption and investment,” he stated.
Saidy further highlighted that significant headwinds remain, tilting the risk to growth outlook to the downside, adding that key risks outlook include elevated inflation, uncertainties surrounding global commodity prices, and structural bottlenecks in the domestic economy.
On foreign exchange, Governor Saidy disclosed that the foreign exchange market has continued to be stable with robust activity amid improved liquidity conditions. He said that the volumes of activities, measured by total sales and purchases of foreign currencies, stood at US$2.1 billion from January to September 2023, slightly lower than US$2.5 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2022.
Saidy further told journalists that the dalasi has continued to be relatively stable against major currencies, despite the challenging global environment, emphasising that owing to excessive demand for foreign currencies to finance the rising import bill, the dalasi depreciated moderately against the three major traded currencies.
From June to September 2023, Governor Saidy explained that the dalasi depreciated by 2.7%, 2.3%, and 0.1% against the US dollar, Euro, and the CFA, noting that the dalasi appreciated against the British Pound Sterling.
He revealed that the Bank has decided to maintain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 17%, saying the decision is aimed at sustaining the declining trend in domestic inflation.
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