The South African Reserve Bank has kept the repo rate unchanged 6.5%.
South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago on Thursday said this is in line with market expectation.
The consumer reprieve comes after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in July cut the repo rate by 25 basis points. The MPC announced the decision following its meeting, which got underway in Pretoria on Tuesday.
Since the July meeting of the MPC, Kganyago said, economic indicators confirm weaker global economic conditions and low inflation.
“Central banks in advanced economies have provided more monetary accommodation, helping to ease global financial conditions. Downside risks from escalating trade and geo-political tensions remain pronounced,” he said.
Addressing reporters, the Governor said monetary policy actions will continue to focus on anchoring inflation expectations near the mid-point of the inflation target range in the interest of balanced and sustainable growth.
“In this persistently uncertain environment, future policy decisions will continue to be highly data-dependent, sensitive to the assessment of the balance of risks to the outlook, and will seek to look-through temporary price shocks,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
