The monetary policy committee of the National Bank of Angola decided to keep key interest rates unchanged, such as the basic rate of interest or BNA rate, which remained at 12 percent, the Angolan central bank said in a statement.

The committee, which met Monday in Luanda, kept the marginal lending rate at 14.00 percent the seven-day deposit facility at 1.75 percent [per year.

The decision to keep interest rates unchanged, according to the Monetary Policy Committee, is a result of the evolution of the main macroeconomic indicators, including the general level of prices, influenced mainly by the adjustment of administered prices and the variation in the exchange rate.

Last January, the monthly inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Price Index in the province of Luanda was 3.43 percent, up 1.83 percentage points against December 2015 and the annual inflation rate stood at 17.34 percent, up 3.06 percentage points compared to the last month of 2015. (macauhub/AO)