Kinshasa, October 11th, 2026 (CPA). –The Congolese franc, the legal tender of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), stood at CDF 2,265.67 per US dollar on the indicative market and CDF 2,327.89 on the parallel market as of October 9th, 2026, compared with CDF 2,267 and CDF 2,329.17, respectively, the previous week, representing an appreciation of 0.06% in both market segments, according to a statement consulted on Sunday. “As of October 9th, 2026, the exchange rate stood at CDF 2,265.67 per US dollar on the interbank market and CDF 2,327.89 on the parallel market, representing an appreciation of 0.06% in each segment compared with October 2nd,” read the economic situation report of the Central Bank of the Congo (BCC). According to the source, the foreign exchange market remained stable during the period under review, with a slight appreciation of the Congolese franc in both segments. International reserves declined from one week to the next, while remaining above their level a year earlier.Since the end of December 2025, the national currency has depreciated by 3.78% on the indicative market and 0.81% on the parallel market, the same source indicated. “When measured against cumulative inflation over the same period (7.4%), the limited nominal depreciation of the national currency reflects the stability of the foreign exchange market, with domestic price movements being driven more by supply-side factors than by exchange-rate pass-through,” the document stated. The economic situation report specified that the gap between parallel and indicative exchange rates stood at CDF 62.17, equivalent to 2.7% of the indicative rate, compared with 5.9% at the end of 2025 and 8.1% at the end of January 2026. “The convergence of the two market segments, observed since the first quarter, is explained by the adjustment of the indicative rate, which has been more pronounced than that of the parallel rate. It reflects better integration of the foreign exchange market and reduces opportunities for arbitrage between the two segments, thereby strengthening the effectiveness of the official market’s price signal,” the BCC stressed. Furthermore, at the beginning of October 2026, international reserves stood at USD 7,654.8 million, representing a decline of 2.1% compared with September 24 and 2.9% compared with the end of 2025, but an increase of 3.5% year-on-year. These reserves cover 2.92 months of imports of goods and services.
Central Bank maintains key interest rate at 12.5%
According to the document, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held its regular meeting on Thursday, October 8th, 2026, in Kolwezi, capital of Lualaba Province. At the end of the meeting, the MPC kept the key interest rate unchanged at 12.5% and the marginal lending facility rate at 16.5%.
It also maintained the reserve requirement ratios at 10.5% and 0.0% for demand and term deposits in national currency, respectively, and at 11.5% and 10.5% for demand and term deposits in foreign currencies, respectively. The MPC committed to remunerating at 0.5% the required reserves levied on deposits in national currency and to releasing part of the previously frozen required reserves.These decisions are based on an assessment of recent international and domestic economic, monetary and financial developments, as well as the outlook for macroeconomic stability in the country. Regarding the outlook, the macroeconomic environment is expected to improve in 2027. Inflation is projected to reach 8.90% by the end of 2026 before falling to 6.40% in 2027. The exchange rate, meanwhile, is expected to stand at around CDF 2,270.00 per US dollar at the end of 2026 and CDF 2,294.20 at the end of 2027. In this context, the MPC believes that maintaining a sufficiently positive real interest rate should help contain the rise in the general price level.