Botswana inflation "still very high": c.bank governor

By Rania Oteify

DUBAI (Reuters) - Inflation in Botswana, which slowed in October but remains stubbornly above target, is "still very high" and the central bank is committed to bringing it back within its 3 to 6 percent band, governor Linah Mohohlo said on Friday.

The Bank of Botswana governor also said the southern African country had emerged from recession in the third quarter.

Consumer inflation slowed to 6.9 percent year-on-year in October compared with 7.0 percent in September.

"It is still very high," she said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Dubai.

"It's beyond the 3 to 6 percent range and the Bank of Botswana is committed to ensure that we maintain this 3 to 6 range and pull inflation within this in a rolling term of three years."

The central bank kept its main lending rate on hold at 11.0 percent in October, amid worries about warming inflation as oil prices edge higher. It had cut its bank rate by a cumulative 200 basis points up to August.

Mohohlo said it was difficult to predict over what time frame inflation could return to the target band due to "intermediary" factors like food and oil prices, the latter of which remains uncomfortably high for Botswana at $76 a barrel.

"If one was to make an assumption about the future, one would hope that inflation would continue to be under control, not only globally but also in Botswana, and this will give you the opportunity to lower interest rates," she said.