By Nicholas Bariyo

KAMPALA, Uganda--Uganda's central bank maintained its key lending rate at 9.75%, citing subdued inflation, as it continues to monitor the likely economic impact of Iran's war on Africa's top coffee-exporting nation.

The central bank has maintained the same rate since October 2024, citing subdued inflation, although the bank's Monetary Policy Committee now says that Iran's conflict may exert pressure on the country's inflation, which rose marginally in April to 3% from 2.8% the previous month, according to Governor Michael Atingi-Ego.

"The Committee assessed that, although risks arising from the conflict in the Middle East could exert upward pressure on inflation, the current monetary policy stance remains appropriate and well aligned with prevailing macroeconomic conditions," he said.

The central bank expects price inflation to range from 5% to 5.3% over the next 12 months, near the bank's medium-term target of 5%.

While Iran's war could hurt Uganda's growth, higher global oil prices could increase the value of Uganda's oil exports, as the country prepares to start shipping crude exports in October, Atingi-Ego said.

France's TotalEnergies and China's CNOOC are expected to start crude oil exports from their 230,000-barrels-a-day crude oil project along Uganda's western border in October.

Write to Nicholas Bariyo at nicholas.bariyo@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 14, 2026 07:41 ET (11:41 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.