Press Release No. : 22/2024
Date : 26 September 2024
Press Release No 22 – Monetary Policy Stance Maintained
The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) Board kept the Overnight Policy Rate unchanged at 0.25 percent at its meeting today.
The Governor and Board Chairman, Mr Ariff Ali stated that recent indicators point to an improved economic outlook for 2024 compared with earlier assessments of domestic activity. He highlighted that record tourist arrivals in the year to August has outperformed expectations, growing twice the forecast at 6.9 percent. In addition, higher disposable incomes and remittances support consumption spending. More positive outcomes were noted on the sectoral front (electricity, sawn timber and woodchips) while leading indicators suggest a pick-up in investment activity.
The improved outlook is also supported by higher government spending, as both operating and capital expenditure noted double-digit growth over the first seven months of the year and a robust expansion in private sector credit (11.6%) cumulative to August 2024.
Inflation moderated to 5.4 percent in August from 6.8 percent in July and is anticipated to moderate to around 4.0 percent to 5.0 percent by year-end. At $3.7 billion as of today (26/09), Fiji’s foreign reserves are sufficient to cover 6.1 months of retained imports of goods and services and are expected to remain adequate over the medium term.
The RBF will continue to monitor incoming information and its implications on the outlook for inflation and foreign reserves and align monetary policy accordingly.
RESERVE BANK OF FIJI
For further details, please contact: –
Communications Office:
Telephone: (679) 3223 381 Email: info@rbf.gov.fj
Mr Mervin Singh – Manager Corporate Communications:
Telephone: (679) 3223 229 Email: mervin@rbf.gov.fj