The Bank of Uganda, Uganda’s central bank, in Kampala, Uganda, on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Uganda estimates that it will need $28.1 billion to adapt to the effects of climate change and cut emissions until the end of the decade. Photographer: Katumba Badru Sultan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

KAMPALA, Jan 6 (Reuters) – The Bank of Uganda (BoU) said on Monday it would change the release of its benchmark policy rate from every two months to quarterly, starting this year.

Interest rate meetings by the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will now be conducted in February, May, August, and November, the bank said in a statement.

“This change allows the MPC to conduct more comprehensive economic analysis, leveraging additional data to enhance forecasting accuracy and build upon its established track record of effective policy decisions,” the BoU said.

At its last meeting in December, the bank left the benchmark rate unchanged at 9.75%, saying risks to the inflation outlook were balanced.

(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema, Editing by Bhargav Acharya and Kevin Liffey)