Botswana Holds Key Rate Unchanged for 5th Time

The Central Bank of Botswana left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.90% for the fifth consecutive meeting on June 19th, 2025.

Botswana’s annual inflation eased to 1.9% in May, the lowest in five months, from 2.3% in April.

The rate remains below the lower bound of the medium-term objective range of 3%-6%.

Meanwhile, the country's economy shrank by 3% in 2024, following a 3.2% growth in 2023, attributed to the contraction in the mining sector and generally subdued growth in non-mining industries.

The Ministry of Finance has revised its 2025 GDP forecast from a 3.3% expansion to a 0.4% fall, a similar projection to that of the International Monetary Fund.

Global economic activity is expected to be significantly affected by US tariff measures and retaliatory actions by its trading partners, along with heightened geopolitical tensions and policy uncertainty.