Central Banks
South Africa Central Bank Raises Key Rate by 75 Basis Points
- Interest rate raised to 6.25% even as inflation seen slowing
- Central bank prefers to anchor CPI expectations close to 4.5%
Lesetja Kganyago
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
South Africa’s central bank lifted its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point for a second straight meeting, fully unwinding its extraordinary pandemic-era stimulus measures, and underlined that it remains prepared to act with urgency to curb inflation.
The monetary policy committee raised the repurchase rate to 6.25% from 5.5%, Governor Lesetja Kganyago said Thursday in an online briefing. The move returns the benchmark to its January 2020 level -- before stop-start coronavirus lockdowns and supply-chain disruptions prompted unprecedented easing.