More Pain To Kenyans As CBK Resolves to Raise Base Lending Rate After Latest MPC Meeting

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) on Tuesday raised the base lending rate from 12.50 per cent to 13 per cent, a policy decision that sets the stage for banks to increase interest rates on loans dished out to Kenyans by commercial banks.

In a statement released after the latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, CBK Governor Kamau Thugge noted that the policy decision was taken to tame the surging inflation rates.

Thugge disclosed that CBK’s foreign exchange reserves, which currently stand at USD 7,101 million (3.8 months of import cover), continued to provide adequate cover against any short-term shocks in the foreign exchange market.