GABORONE, June 13 (Reuters) – Botswana’s central bank lowered its key lending rate by 25 basis points to 2.15% on Thursday.

Governor Cornelius Dekop told a news conference that there was scope to ease monetary policy as the economy was forecast to operate below full capacity and not generate any demand-driven inflationary pressures.

The southern African country’s consumer inflation rose to 3.1% year on year in April from 2.9% in March, at the bottom end of the bank’s 3% to 6% medium-term objective range.

Inflation is expected to remain within the objective range in the medium term, averaging 3.6% in 2024 and 4.5% in 2025, Dekop added.

The central bank’s Monetary Policy Rate is based on a seven-day instrument. It was lowered to 2.40% in December, before which it had been at 2.65% for over a year.

(Reporting by Brian Benza; Writing by Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning)