South Africa

South Africa Interest Rate

South Africa Interest Rate

SARB Repo Rate in South Africa

The South African Reserve Bank's policy rates from 2013 to 2022 reflected the country's economic challenges. Initially, rates were increased to combat inflation and stabilize the Rand. However, in 2020, in response to the COVID-19 economic fallout, rates were significantly reduced to historic lows to support economic growth. By 2022, as the economy began recovering and inflationary pressures emerged, the central bank started increasing rates.

The SARB Repo Rate ended 2022 at 7.00%, up from the 3.75% end-2021 value and higher than the reading of 5.00% a decade earlier. For reference, the average policy rate in Sub-Saharan Africa was 11.80% at the end of 2022. For more interest rate information, visit our dedicated page.

South Africa Interest Rate Chart

Note: This chart displays Policy Interest Rate (%) for South Africa from 2014 to 2023.
Source: South African Reserve Bank.

South Africa Interest Rate Data

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
SARB Repo Rate (%, eop) 6.75 6.50 3.50 3.75 7.00
3-Month JIBAR (%, eop) 7.61 7.16 3.87 3.85 6.50
10-Year Bond Yield (%, eop) 9.44 9.02 9.70 9.82 11.30

SARB holds fire a fourth consecutive time in January

At its first scheduled meeting of 2024 on 25 January, the Monetary Policy Committee of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) extended the pause in its tightening cycle, keeping the repurchase rate at 8.25% for the fourth consecutive meeting. The decision, which was unanimous, had been priced in by markets.

The SARB’s hold was a cautious decision; the Bank’s baseline scenario is for inflation to continue to gradually recede, but risks to the outlook remained skewed to the upside, in part because imported goods inflation is sensitive to rand weakness. The SARB maintained its 2024 and 2026 headline inflation forecasts unchanged at 5.0% and 4.5%, respectively, while it maintained its core inflation forecasts for these two years at 4.6% and 4.5%, respectively. However, it upwardly revised its expections for both headline and core inflation in 2025 to 4.6%. As such, all six forecasts lie within the SARB’s 3.0–6.0% target band, and it sees inflation hovering around the mid-point of the target range from Q3 2024 onwards. Regarding activity, the SARB left its GDP growth forecasts for 2024–2026 unchanged.

The SARB’s communiqué was void of explicit forward guidance. It once again stated that current policy was consistent with bringing both inflation and inflation expectations down to 4.5%—the mid-point of the target band. A majority of our panelists have penciled in the first interest rate cut for Q2. That said, a few see the loosening cycle beginning before the end of Q1, suggesting the SARB could cut the repo rate when it convenes next on 27 March.

Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years

How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects South African interest rate projections for the next ten years from a panel of 17 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable interest rate forecast available for South African interest rate.

Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our South African interest rate projections.

Want to get access to the full dataset of South African interest rate forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.

Latest Global Monetary Policy News

Free sample report

Interested in economic reports, analysis and data? FocusEconomics provides data, forecasts and analysis for hundreds of countries and commodities. Request your free sample report now.

Close Left Media Arrows Left Media Circles Right Media Arrows Right Media Circles Arrow Quote Wave Address Email Telephone Man in front of screen with line chart Document with bar chart and magnifying glass Application window with bar chart Target with arrow Line Chart Stopwatch Globe with arrows Document with bar chart in front of screen Bar chart with magnifying glass and dollar sign Lightbulb Document with bookmark Laptop with download icon Calendar Icon Nav Menu Arrow Arrow Right Long Icon Arrow Right Icon Chevron Right Icon Chevron Left Icon Briefcase Icon Linkedin In Icon Full Linkedin Icon Filter Facebook Linkedin Twitter Pinterest