Central bank holds its policy rate at 7 percent and flags a record energy bill
The central bank's board, meeting on 29 July, left the policy rate unchanged at 7.00 percent, judging that inflation risks remain skewed to the upside: headline inflation was 5.3 percent in June, but core inflation excluding fresh food and administered prices has been stuck at 5.0 percent for three months running. The communiqué put the current-account deficit at 4,241 million dinars, or 2.3 percent of GDP, in the first half of 2026 against 2,844 million (1.6 percent) a year earlier, entirely a function of a record 8,502-million-dinar energy bill; excluding energy the current account ran a 2,538-million-dinar surplus. After the repayment of a 700-million-euro Eurobond in July, net foreign assets stood at 23.4 billion dinars, the equivalent of 92 days of imports, on 28 July.