In its last meeting of 2023, the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic decided to maintain at 7% the monetary policy interest rate. The overnight interest rate will remain the same at 5.50%.
According to the Central Bank, the year-to-year inflation rate has been reduced and kept within 4.0% (+/-1.0%) thanks to the bank’s monetary policies. According to the report released at the end of the last meeting, inflation has fallen from 9.64% in April of 2022 to 4.0% in November of 2023. Other numbers show that inflation rates, excluding the more volatile items, such as fuels and some food staples, were down from 7.29% in May of 2022 to 4.48% in November of 2023.
The Central Bank says that banks and other financial institutions have lent RD$170 billion for industry, commerce, and personal loans, some with interest rates as low as 9%.
Read more in Spanish:
El Caribe
3 January 2024