South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago has announced that the country’s repo rate would remain unchanged at the July rate of 6.5 percent.
Briefing reporters on Thursday after the Monetary Policy Committee’s two-day meeting in Pretoria, Kganyago said this development was in line with market expectations.
The top banker added that the rate remained the same because economic indicators confirmed 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.
The governor said monetary policy actions would 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,” the top banker said.
NM/jn/APA