Mauritania's central bank raised its policy rate by half a percentage point to 7.25% and nearly doubled the share of deposits banks must hold in reserve, to 15% from 8%, citing inflation and risks to price stability, according to a Monetary Policy Council communiqué issued after a meeting in the week of October 26 and reported by Mauritanian news sites. Both measures will be phased in, Sahara Medias said, without giving a date.
Analysis: The policy rate returns to its end-2024 level but remains about two percentage points below September's 9.3% inflation rate. Raising required reserves from 8% to 15% may have the greater immediate effect: Sahara Medias estimates that it would absorb about 10.2bn MRU (€226mn) in bank liquidity. Reported excess reserves stood at 4.35bn MRU (€96.6mn) on October 27, more than four times the central bank's target, suggesting that draining liquidity is a central objective. The measures will be phased in on a timetable yet to be disclosed. November debt auctions should offer an early indication of the effect on financing costs.
Source: Al Wiam (Mauritanian news site), BCM Monetary Policy Council communiqué, as reported by Al Wiam (November 2, 2026), Decision of the BCM Monetary Policy Council, meeting in the week of October 26, 2026 and Decision of October 2026 and Before the October 2026 decision; Sahara Medias, Sahara Medias, 'Mauritanie : le taux d’intérêt porté à 7,25 % et celui de la réserve obligatoire à 15 %' (November 1, 2026), After the October 2026 decision (estimate) and Before the October 2026 decision; Sahara Medias, Minutes of the BCM Monetary Policy Council (October 2026 meeting), as reported by Sahara Medias from a version seen by Reuters (November 1, 2026), October 27, 2026 and October 2026; AMI (state news agency), AMI home page exchange-rate box (BCM rates), page dated Monday, November 2, 2026, November 2, 2026; Banque Centrale de Mauritanie (BCM), BCM, Procès-verbal N°2026/02 du Conseil de Politique Monétaire, réunion du 14 juillet 2026, Decision of July 14, 2026; ANSADE, ANSADE, Note mensuelle de l’Indice National des Prix à la Consommation (INPC), septembre 2026, September 2026; International Monetary Fund, IMF Country Report No. 24/362, staff report for the 2024 Article IV consultation and third ECF/EFF review, Decision of 22 October 2024; RegAlert (regulatory document aggregator), BCM Instruction No. 020/GR/2024 on the modification of rates applicable to monetary policy operations (RegAlert copy), Instruction of 31 December 2024; Banque Centrale de Mauritanie (BCM), Direction du Marché Monétaire, BCM, Résultats Obligations du Trésor du 28/10/2026 (OT, 5 ans), Auction of October 28, 2026