CBK raises Base Lending Rate by 50bps to 8.75 percent setting the stage for costly loans for hustlers.

 

Thursday, November 24, 2022 – In a bid to tame the rising inflation in the country, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has raised the base lending rate further to 8.75 percent from 8.25 percent.

The increase of 50 basis points signals a higher cost of loans for Kenyan borrowers who are currently grappling with a high cost of living.

“The Monetary Policy Committee noted the sustained inflationary pressures, the elevated global risks, and their potential impact on the domestic economy and concluded that there was scope for a further tightening of the monetary policy in order to anchor inflation expectations,” CBK governor, Dr. Patrick Njoroge said on Wednesday.

Kenyans endured the sharpest rise in the cost of living in October when inflation rose to an all-time high of 9.6 percent, attributed to the high cost of food, fuel, and housing.

The governor noted that food inflation rose to 15.8 percent in October from 15.5 percent in September, largely due to prices of maize and milk following reduced supply attributed to depressed rains and edible oils and wheat products due to the impact of international supply chain disruptions.