Johannesburg – The South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) governor Lesetja Kganyago has announced the latest decision on interest rates for the country.
The decision follows the three-day meeting of the Sarb’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) which Kganyago chairs.
Kganyago announced that the MPC decided not to make a change to the country’s interest rates.
Last year, the MPC cut the repo rate by 25 basis points, which took the repo rate to 3.50% per annum.
This means that the prime lending rate in South Africa will remain at 7%.
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“The Monetary Policy Committee has decided to hold the repurchase rate at 3.5%, with effect from 22 January 2021. The implied policy rate path of the Quarterly Projection Model (QPM) indicates two increases of 25 basis points in the second and third quarters of 2021,” Kganyago said.
Inflation
Kganyago said, “Expectations of future inflation appear more stable after sustained moderation last year, although those held by households continue to moderate from quite high levels.”
— SA Reserve Bank (@SAReserveBank) January 21, 2021
“While monetary policy will continue to support the economic recovery, a faster growth rate depends on implementing prudent macroeconomic policies and structural reforms,” Kganyago said.
Vaccines
“The rollout of vaccines is expected to boost global growth prospects generally. We have therefore revised global growth higher to 5% in 2021 (Nov: 4.5%), 3.8% in 2022 (Nov: 3.7%), and 3.4% in 2023,” Kganyago said.
Watch the SA Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago make the announcement below:
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