Central Bank keeps interest rates steady

Fuel prices, which constitute a significant portion to the inflation basket, have already been adjusted upwards four times this year putting pressure on national inflation rate, which currently sits at 8.6 percent as of September. In a statement released after a monetary policy committee sitting on Monday, the Bank of Botswana said that the short-term price developments imply that inflation will continue to be above the 3 - 6 percent objective range until the second half of 2012, although the medium-term outlook for inflation continued to be positive.

The bank said upside risks to the inflation outlook included "any unanticipated large increase in administered prices and government levies, as well as an increase in international food prices beyond current forecasts".