Ghana Holds on Rates

FILE - Pedestrians walk in front of Ghana's central bank building in Accra, Ghana, on Nov. 16, 2015.

ACCRA - Ghana's central bank maintained its main interest rate at 29.5% on Monday, saying tight monetary policy and relative exchange rate stability were helping inflation fall.

Ghana's consumer inflation slowed for the fourth consecutive month in April after reaching a more than two-decade high of 54.1% in December, to 41.2% year-on-year from 45.0% in March.

"The committee further noted the significant decline in headline inflation from the beginning of the year ... The percentage of items in the CPI (Consumer Price Index) basket with inflation of more than 50% is receding," Bank of Ghana Governor Ernest Addison told a news conference.

The International Monetary Fund's executive board last week approved a $3 billion three-year support program, allowing for an immediate disbursement of about $600 million and a potential path out of the crisis.

The cocoa, gold, and oil-producing West African nation is grappling with its worst economic crisis in a generation.