Policy monitor: Bank of Sierra Leone holds at 24.75% with inflation at 15%

The Bank of Sierra Leone's benchmark policy rate stands at 24.75%, unchanged at its most recent review. This briefing sets out the data behind the stance, drawn from CBAN's Sierra Leone dataset.

Headline consumer price inflation is running at 15% year on year in the latest reading tracked by CBAN, down from 16.4% in the prior reading. That puts the real policy rate — the benchmark rate minus headline inflation — at roughly 9.8 percentage points, a restrictive setting by historical standards.

On the currency side, the Sierra Leonean leone trades near 22.7 per US dollar, down 2.4% since the start of the year. Gross official reserves stand at roughly $0.6 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 BSL's statutory mandate: Achieve and maintain price stability and promote a sound financial system in Sierra Leone.

The wider economy is growing at around 4.1% a year on the estimates CBAN tracks, with nominal output of about $7 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 24 September 2026. CBAN tracks every African MPC date in the economic calendar, and this briefing is refreshed as new official data is released.