By Emily Bowers

Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) — Ghana’s central bank left its benchmark lending rate unchanged as the West African nation’s currency stabilized, helping to ease inflation.

The prime rate was held at 18.5 percent, Bank of Ghana Governor Paul Acquah told reporters today in the capital, Accra. It was the third time the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee has held the rate since lifting it 1.5 percentage points in February.

A slump in the domestic currency, the cedi, was halted in July when the International Monetary Fund agreed to lend Ghana $1.02 billion to support the country’s balance of payments. The stable currency helped to cut the inflation rate to 19.65 percent in August, the lowest this year.

The cedi has strengthened 4 percent against the dollar since July 10, following a slump of 26 percent in the previous 12 months.

In August, Finance Minister Kwabena Duffuor said Ghana was targeting inflation of 14.5 percent by the end of the year.

The rate decision is the last for Acquah, who is due to leave the post when his contract ends this month. Economist Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, a member of President John Atta Mills’ economic advisory team, will take over as governor from Oct. 1.

Tags: bank of ghana, BUSINESS, central bank, monetary