Mozambique’s benchmark lending rate, the prime rate, will remain at 15.5% in November, marking a seventh consecutive month of stability following three reductions recorded earlier in the year, the Mozambican Banks Association (AMB) announced on Friday (30).

The decision extends the trend of stability in place since May and mirrors the position of the Bank of Mozambique, which in September opted to hold its monetary policy rate (MIMO) at 9.25%, the level in force since January.

In 2026, the prime rate underwent three consecutive cuts of 10 basis points each, in January, March, and April, bringing it down from 15.8% to the current 15.5%, where it has remained unchanged in the months since.

The rate is used by commercial banks as a reference for setting interest charges on credit, and its trajectory is closely tied to the MIMO rate set by the central bank.

At the most recent meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (CPMO), held on 30 September, the Bank of Mozambique decided to keep the MIMO rate at 9.25%, following an assessment of risks associated with the evolution of the economy.

On that occasion, central bank governor Felisberto Navalha justified the decision by citing the need to maintain a “prudent stance” in the face of economic uncertainties and risks to inflation.

The MIMO rate began a cycle of reductions in January 2024, after having been held at 17.25% since September 2022. Since then, the Bank of Mozambique has made successive cuts, ultimately fixing the rate at 9.25% in January 2026, a level that has remained unchanged.