DRC: Depreciation of the Congolese franc limited to 0.6% in the first quarter of 2025 (Monetary Policy Committee)

Kinshasa, April 24^th; 2025 (CPA) – The depreciation of the Congolese franc, the currency of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was contained at 0.6% in the first quarter of 2025 against 4.1% at the end of March 2024, at the level of the official and parallel segment, according to a press release consulted on Wednesday by the CPA. ‘The depreciation of the Congolese franc was contained at 0.6% in the first quarter of 2025 compared with 4.1% at the end of March 2024, on both segments. The rigorous management of bank liquidity and the strengthening of fiscal and monetary policy coordination have largely contributed to these results, and should continue to do so,’ reads the communiqué issued by the Monetary Policy Committee at the end of its meeting chaired by the Governor of the Central Bank of Congo. According to the communiqué, the MPC noted that since its last meeting in January 2025, the risks and uncertainties facing the national economy had increased significantly, with potentially pronounced adverse effects on the economic outlook for the Democratic Republic of Congo. At international level, the JPC noted the Russo-Ukrainian war and armed conflicts in the Middle East, as well as the increase in customs duties in the United States and the ensuing trade war. The MPC also stressed that these developments could lead to a slowdown in global growth and a rise in inflation, with negative implications for the domestic economy. Faced with this climate of uncertainty, the MPC decided to maintain the restrictive stance of monetary policy and recommended even closer monitoring of internal and external economic developments to enable the BCC to take any corrective measures that might be necessary. The BCC maintains its key rate at 25%. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also decided to maintain the restrictive stance of monetary policy unchanged. To this end, it maintained the central bank’s key rate at 25%. Similarly, the reserve requirement ratios remained at 12% and 0.0% respectively for domestic currency sight and time deposits, and 13% and 12% respectively for foreign currency sight and time deposits.Despite the negative impact, particularly on public finances, of the intensification of the war in the east of the country, the CPM noted that in 2025, the macroeconomic framework has remained stable since the third quarter of 2024, specifying that inflationary pressures have continued to fall, the Congolese franc has remained relatively stable, and economic activity has remained sustained. As a result, at the end of March 2025, the year-on-year inflation rate stood at 10.1%, although below the level recorded for the same period in 2024, i.e. 21.5%. He also reiterated the need to speed up the implementation of reforms designed to support the diversification and transformation of the national economy. In this context, it remains essential to maintain prudent and coordinated economic policies. ACP/