TUNIS, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) decided to increase its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points from 5 percent to 5.75 percent, the BCT communications director Zied Mouhli told Xinhua on Monday.

According to BCT, this move has been taken to face real risks caused by the continuation of inflation in 2018, reaching 7.1 percent last month compared with 4.6 percent a year ago and 5.3 percent on average in 2017.

"An acceleration of inflation was recorded at the beginning of this year, mainly because of the sharp rise in the consumer price index of 1.1 percent in January 2018," Mouhli said.

He added that, in anticipation of this acceleration of inflation, "BCT board of directors has decided, by the end of December 2017, to widen the corridor by 100 basis points on both sides of the key policy rate, giving a rise to a marginal lending rate of 6 percent."

As a result, he explained that the average money market rate rose to 5.61 percent in February 2018, which calls for "an adjustment of the benchmark interest rate in order to ensure a coherence of money market rates."