Kenya surprises with biggest rate hike in more than a decade

Kenya’s central bank unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest rate for the second time since Governor Kamau Thugge took office in June, citing the need to support the country’s battered shilling.

The monetary policy committee increased the rate by 200 basis points to 12.5%, the highest increase since 2011 Thugge said in an emailed statement Tuesday from the capital, Nairobi. Six of the seven economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast an unchanged stance.

The MPC “concluded that there is need to adjust the monetary policy stance to address the pressures on the exchange rate and mitigate second-round effects including from global prices,” he said.