What is the current interest rate in South Africa?
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the end on March this year. The repo rate is now 6.5% and the prime lending rate 10%.
This according to an article by Mail and Guardian titled Interest rates likely unchanged until late 2019 – Nedbank.
The article states that Interest rates in South Africa will remain unchanged into late 2019, Nedbank Group’s Economic Unit forecasted. According to Nedbank, rising inflation and concerns over tightening policy globally will probably keep interest rates in South Africa on hold in the short term until these trends become clearer.
Interest Rate in South Africa averaged 12.58 percent from 1998 until 2018, reaching an all-time high of 23.99 percent in June of 1998 and a record low of 5 percent in July of 2012. SARB held its benchmark repo rate at 6.5 percent on September 20th, 2018, as widely expected.
The Committee said the decision is accommodative given the current state of the economy. Policymakers noted risks and uncertainties at higher levels and a deterioration in the inflation outlook boosted by multiple supply-side factors. The Committee added that they’ll continue to monitor and will act if it’s necessary. Since the previous meeting, the country entered into recession.
The last time the central bank cut the repo rate was in July 2017, when the MPC reduced the rate by 25 basis points from 7% to 6.75%.