Kenya’s central bank on Wednesday said it anticipates going into the purchase of gold, becoming the latest African country looking to buy the precious metal as a way of diversifying its reserve holdings.
Governor Kamau Thugge told a news conference that “We anticipate going into the purchase of gold as (an) extra buffer. This is something that we have indicated before; it is one of (the) ways of diversifying our holding of reserves.’’
Thugge was speaking a day after the Central Bank of Kenya cut its benchmark lending rate (KECBIR=ECI) by 25 basis points to 8.75%, aiming to further stimulate credit growth.
The East African country’s foreign exchange reserves stood at 12.46 billion dollars or 5.4 months of import cover, as of Feb. 9, data from the central bank showed.
Other African nations topping up their reserves with gold include Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Namibia.
Reuters/Shakirat Sadiq