Policy monitor: Central Bank of The Gambia holds at 17% with inflation at 10.2%

The Central Bank of The Gambia's benchmark policy rate stands at 17%, unchanged at its most recent review. This briefing sets out the data behind the stance, drawn from CBAN's The Gambia dataset.

Headline consumer price inflation is running at 10.2% year on year in the latest reading tracked by CBAN, down from 10.9% in the prior reading. That puts the real policy rate — the benchmark rate minus headline inflation — at roughly 6.8 percentage points, a restrictive setting by historical standards.

On the currency side, the Gambian dalasi trades near 71.5 per US dollar, down 1.5% since the start of the year. Gross official reserves stand at roughly $0.5 billion. Exchange-rate pass-through into consumer prices is one of the strongest inflation channels in most African economies, which is why these two indicators move together in policy deliberations.

The CBG's statutory mandate: Achieve and maintain domestic price stability and promote and maintain a stable exchange rate for the dalasi.

The wider economy is growing at around 5.5% a year on the estimates CBAN tracks, with nominal output of about $2.4 billion. Growth, inflation and the exchange rate form the three-way trade-off every Monetary Policy Committee weighs.

The next scheduled monetary policy decision is 27 August 2026. CBAN tracks every African MPC date in the economic calendar, and this briefing is refreshed as new official data is released.