Under the chairmanship of Mr. Tiémoko Meyliet KONE, Governor of the Central Bank, its Statutory Chairman, the Monetary Policy Committee (CPM) of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) held, on Wednesday, June 9, 2021, its second ordinary meeting for the year 2021, by videoconference. The main developments in the international and regional economic environment over the recent period, as well as the risk factors that could affect the medium-term outlook for inflation and economic growth in the Union, were reviewed

The Committee noted advances in vaccination campaigns as well as the continued implementation of fiscal and monetary support measures have strengthened market confidence and improved economic prospects. On international markets, commodity prices continued their upward trend for the third consecutive quarter, driven by the recovery in global demand and the persistence of some supply constraints. At the same time, prices of non-energy commodities strengthened by 27.8%, after rising by 11.8%. In this wake, the price index of non-energy raw materials exported by UEMOA countries increased by 5.1% in the first quarter of 2021, after rising by 2.7% a quarter earlier, while the price index of the main food products imported by UEMOA countries grew by 19.4% in the first quarter of 2021, after an increase of 11.2% a quarter earlier.

Examining the internal situation, the Committee noted a strengthening of economic activity in UEMOA in the first quarter of 2021, with a real GDP growth rate of 3.2%, on an annual basis, after 1.8% in the previous quarter. With reference to the same period of the previous year, the execution of the financial operations of the UEMOA member states during the first three months of 2021 resulted in an attenuation of the overall budgetary deficit, including commitments, including grants, amounting to 2.9% of GDP compared to 4.5% a year earlier. On the money market, financial conditions remained favourable, in line with the accommodative monetary policy stance pursued by the Central Bank. The weighted average auction rates on the one-week and one-month compartments at the Central Bank's counters remained at 2.00%. The average interest rate weighted on the one-week maturity of the interbank market fell to 2.53%. The average bank loan rate fell by 16 basis points compared to the fourth quarter of 2020 to 6.42% in the first quarter of 2021. The weighted average interest rate on treasury bills was 3.6% compared to 4.5%