UPDATE 2-Malawi central bank holds key rate at first meeting under new government

(Adds more context throughout, comments and forecasts from central bank statement in paragraphs 3, 6-7) BLANTYRE, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Malawi's central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged at its first monetary policy meeting since President Peter Mutharika returned to power. The policy rate was left at 26%, where it has been since February 2024 in an effort to bring down double-digit inflation. The Reserve Bank of Malawi said in a statement that it expected "supportive initiatives on the food supply front and fiscal consolidation," though it said risks to the inflation outlook remained. The donor-dependent Southern African country has been mired in an economic crisis for years, but Mutharika has pledged to turn things around after winning last month's election. Inflation has been above 20% for more than three years and was running at 28.7% in annual terms in September . The central bank said on Thursday that it had revised up its inflation forecast for 2025 to 28.9% from a previous estimate of 28.5%. It maintained this year's economic growth forecast at 2.8%. Malawi is in talks with the International Monetary Fund over a new support programme after its last one failed to restore macroeconomic stability and was terminated . (Reporting by Frank Phiri; Writing by Anathi Madubela; Editing by Alexander Winning)

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