BUSINESS NEWS - The Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank decided to keep the repo rate unchanged again at 8.25% in line with the expectations of economists.
The decision was unanimous.
Lesetja Kganyago, governor of the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb), announced the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee this afternoon, noting that at the current repurchase (repo) rate level, policy is restrictive, consistent with the inflation outlook and the need to address rising inflation expectations.
The MPC independently makes monetary policy to achieve the inflation target that is between 3 and 6%. Monetary policy is implemented by setting a short-term policy rate called the repo rate, which affects the borrowing costs of the financial sector which in turn affects the broader economy.
Kganyago warned that there are still serious risks that could cause inflation to increase from global and domestic sources, while the economic outlook is highly uncertain.
The decision came after Statistics SA announced yesterday that the inflation rate for December eased to 5.1% after registering 5.5% in October.
