The central bank of the six-nation Central African CEMAC zone cut its prime lending rate by 30 basis points to 2.95 percent on Tuesday to help spur the region’s economy, and revised its 2014 GDP growth forecast down to 6.1 percent from 6.7 percent.
The bank’s governor, Lucas Abaga Nchama, said in a statement that the pace of economic growth was insufficient to tackle poverty and boost the region’s emergence in the near-term.
The CEMAC zone is made up of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Five of them produce oil, which accounts for 36 percent of the region’s GDP and 87 percent of total exports.
Reuters
