Tunis - The Executive Board of the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) decided, at a meeting held Wednesday, to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 7%.

The Board also considered it necessary to continue supporting the ongoing disinflationary process in order to bring inflation back toward its long-term average, according to a statement released by the BCT.

The meeting reviewed recent developments in the economic and financial environment, both internationally and domestically, as well as recent inflation dynamics.

At the national level, inflation dropped to 4.8% in January 2026, after remaining stable at 4.9% over the previous three months.

According to the BCT, this easing was driven by a slowdown in inflation for administratively priced products, which fell to 0.6% from 0.8% in December 2025, amid the continued freeze of most key administered prices in the consumer basket.

In addition, the pace of increase in prices of fresh food products slowed in January 2026 to 10.3%, compared with 11.2% the previous month, supported by improved supply of several products.

By contrast, core inflation, excluding fresh food products and administratively priced items, continued its gradual rise, increasing from a low of 4.3% in September 2025 to 4.9% in January 2026.

This trend is mainly explained by the fading of the downward base effect linked to the sharp contraction in domestic olive oil prices observed in 2025.

In the external sector, 2025 ended with a current account deficit of 4.35 billion dinars (or -2.5% of GDP), compared with 2.576 billion dinars (-1.6% of GDP) a year earlier.

This widening was due to the deterioration of the trade deficit, partially offset by improved worker remittances and tourism revenues.

The gradual consolidation of foreign exchange assets continued recently, bringing reserves to 25.8 billion dinars (equivalent to 109 days of imports) as of February 10, 2026, compared with 23.3 billion dinars (102 days of imports) a year earlier.

At the international level, inflation continued to ease in January 2026, despite a slow rebound in prices of major commodities and raw materials.

In this context, central banks in major economies opted to maintain the status quo at their latest monetary policy meetings, amid uncertainties surrounding trade policies and price outlooks.

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