Ghana maintained its highest interest rates, lending rates position among some top African countries, tracked by Pan African bank, Absa Group and Databank Research.
According to the data, the country’s 30.1% and 31.3% interest rates on the 91-day and 182-day Treasury bills respectively are also among the highest globally.
Again, average lending rates hovering around 35%, ranks Ghana among the highest on the continent
T-Bill rates are likely to go up in the coming weeks to compensate investors for the rising inflation. The rates in the country are presently lower than the inflation rate of 33.9%.
This will again push the cost of borrowing further up.
Indeed, the relentless pace of inflation has stretched real returns on short term securities further down into negative territory.
So if you have bought Treasury bills in recent times, the return on your investments is negative.
This situation may compel the Bank of Ghana to increase its Monetary Policy Rate from the current 22%, to help mop up excess liquidity in circulation, though some analysts have argued that any such move may affect the real sector of the economy.
Meanwhile, the rising interest rates in the Treasury market is expected to push further government interest costs, from the estimated ¢42 billion.
Again, the cost of borrowing and production cost per unit of most businesses will also shoot up.
Meanwhile, Egypt follows Ghana closely with a 91-day Treasury bill rate of 15.60%.
Its currency – the Egyptian Pound – has also been recording rapid depreciation to the dollar.
Seychelles has the lowest interest rate of 0.88% among the top 11 African countries.
Top African countries with lowest interest rates
COUNTRIES | 91-Day T-bills | 182-Day T-bills | RANKINGS |
Seychelles | 0.88% | 1.47% | 1st |
Mauritius | 1.00% | 1.12% | 2nd |
Tanzania | 3.00% | 4.08% | 3rdh |
Botswana | 3.35% | 4.02% | 4th |
Nigeria | 5.50% | 6.00% | 5th |
South Africa | 5.63% | 6.99% | 6th |
Namibia | 7.11% | 7.54% | 7th |
Kenya | 8.95% | 11.83% | 8th |
Uganda | 9.31% | 11.83% | 10th |
Zambia | 9.94% | 10.00% | 11th |
Latest Stories
-
Police ‘waiting for court date’ on Erastus’ case is a lie – Samson Anyenini
5 mins -
Sports facilities are better managed by institutions – UG Sports Director on maintenance of Legon stadium
35 mins -
Ghanaian businesses must align vision with strategy to mitigate ESG Risks – KPMG
45 mins -
MTN achieves 30% localisation of Scancom PLC
46 mins -
Attorney-General: Some lawyers sacrifice ethics for ‘cheap’ political gains
58 mins -
Bond market: Volume up by 12.45% to GH¢746m
58 mins -
Cedi records year-to-date loss of nearly 29%; one dollar going for GH¢17.10
1 hour -
‘Our priorities are wrong in Ghana’ – UG Sports Director on sports development
1 hour -
The Fourth Estate’s investigative report wins 2nd place at 2024 AIJC
1 hour -
GPL: Our fans spur us on – GoldStars head coach Frimpong Manso on unbeaten run
2 hours -
Plantain chips are breaking hearts in Africa
2 hours -
61 new architects acquire state license to practice in Ghana
3 hours -
Masloc CEO honoured as capacity building Shero of the Year
3 hours -
MPs’ Repeated Attempts to Sue the Speaker: Unintended Consequences for the 2024 Elections?
3 hours -
Today’s front pages: Tuesday, November 5, 2024
3 hours