The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has kept the repo rate unchanged at 8.25%, marking the sixth consecutive decision not to raise interest rates.
The announcement was made by the central bank's governor, Lesetja Kganyago, on Thursday afternoon.
This decision comes as the repo rate remains at a 14-year high, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has declined for two consecutive months.
Kganyago said that the decision was unanimous.
"We have revised our load shedding assumption down, but additional revisions may be required if this performance is sustained. Our forecast shows a modest acceleration in growth over the next few years, alongside a gradual stabilisation of inflation at our target."
“The MPC remains concerned that inflation expectations are elevated. After three years of inflation being above the midpoint, few survey respondents, especially from businesses and trade unions, believe that inflation will be at 4.5% in two years’ time,” he said.
“Although the MPC assesses the risks to the inflation forecast to be broadly balanced at present, high inflation expectations require that we deliver on our target sooner rather than later, to re-anchor expectations.”
The governor said that the MPC only sees inflation stabilising at the 4.5% target in the second quarter of 2025.
The table below highlights how much it costs to finance a bond at the current prime lending rate at 11.75%.
Bond value (20 years) | Monthly cost |
R750 000 | R8 128 |
R800 000 | R8 670 |
R850 000 | R9 212 |
R900 000 | R9 753 |
R950 000 | R10 295 |
R1 000 000 | R10 837 |
R1 500 000 | R16 256 |
R2 000 000 | R21 674 |
R2 500 000 | R27 093 |
R3 000 000 | R32 511 |
R3 500 000 | R37 930 |
R4 000 000 | R43 348 |
R4 500 000 | R48 767 |
R5 000 000 | R54 185 |
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