Ghana hikes rates by 300 basis points at 'emergency' meeting

Ghana's central bank on Wednesday raised its main lending rate by 300 basis points to 22%, its largest rate hike ever, at an "emergency" meeting called to address the economy's rapid deterioration.

The bank announced the emergency meeting on Monday, just three weeks after its monetary policy committee (MPC) held the rate at 19% and said it was pausing the observe the impact of a series of record-breaking hikes. The next meeting was not scheduled until the end of September.

But Ghana's cedi currency has continued its steep decline since the July MPC meeting, and consumer inflation has risen further to 31.7% annually in July, its highest since late 2003.

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