The Monetary Board of the Central Bank requests the Government to consider phasing out the remaining restrictions on most items of merchandise imports.
The exchange rate, which is allowed to be determined by market forces, continues to reflect positive market sentiments underpinned by the improvement in liquidity in the domestic forex market.
The Central Bank has absorbed a sizeable amount of foreign exchange from the domestic forex market thus far in 2023, resulting in a steady increase in gross official reserves (GOR).
As of the end of May 2023, the level of GOR is estimated to have surpassed US dollars 3 billion, including the swap facility from the People’s Bank of China.
As per the latest projections of the Central Bank, headline inflation is forecast to reach single-digit levels in early Q3-2023, and stabilise around mid-single-digit levels over the medium term.