Interest Rate in South Africa

South Africa - Interest Rate
SARB slows down pace of tightening in January
At its 24–26 January meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) increased the repurchase rate by 25 basis points, bringing it to 7.25%. The move, which came on the heels of November’s 75 basis point hike, largely took markets by surprise—a 50 basis-point increase had been priced in. The decision regarding the size of the hike—the eighth consecutive increase since November 2021—was once again not unanimous: Two of the five committee members preferred a 50 basis point increase.
The move was driven by the Bank’s assessment that risks to the inflationary outlook remain skewed to the upside, partially due to higher price expectations for food and energy. The SARB left its 2023 headline inflation forecast unchanged but upwardly revised its 2024 forecast. Conversely, core inflation forecasts for 2023 and 2024 were both downwardly revised. While the SARB forecasts both headline and core inflation within the SARB’s 3.0–6.0% target band in both 2023 and 2024, they are seen above the mid-point of the range.
With regards to activity, the SARB drastically cut its growth forecasts for 2023 and 2024; they were revised to 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively, down from 1.1% and 1.4%. The drastic cooling of the economy called for a slowing of the pace of tightening.
With regards to future policy moves, the SARB’s tone was largely unchanged from its previous communiqué—hawkish but vague. The Bank reiterated its commitment to bringing inflation back to the mid-point of the target band and anchoring inflation expectations. However, as uncertainty has increased, it stated that “monetary policy decisions will continue to be data dependent and sensitive to the balance of risks to the outlook”.
The next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for 28–30 March.
FocusEconomics Consensus panelists see the SARB repo rate ending 2023 at 7.33% and 2024 at 6.50%.
South Africa - Interest Rate Data
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Policy Interest Rate (%) | 6.25 | 7.00 | 6.75 | 6.75 | 6.50 |
South Africa Interest Rate Chart

Source: South African Reserve Bank.
South Africa Facts
Value | Change | Date | |
---|---|---|---|
Bond Yield | 8.26 | 0.29 % | Dec 31 |
Exchange Rate | 13.98 | -0.21 % | Dec 31 |
Stock Market | 0.1 | -0.44 % | Jan 06 |
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Economic News
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South Africa: SARB slows down pace of tightening in January
January 26, 2023
At its 24–26 January meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) increased the repurchase rate by 25 basis points, bringing it to 7.25%.
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South Africa: Inflation continues its downward trend in December
January 18, 2023
Inflation fell to 7.2% in December, easing slightly from November’s 7.4%.
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South Africa: Manufacturing activity rebounds in November
January 10, 2023
Manufacturing output increased 2.0% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in November, which contrasted October's 6.2% decrease.
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South Africa: Private-sector conditions improve marginally in December
January 5, 2023
The S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) moderated to 50.2 in December, down from November’s 50.6.
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South Africa: Inflation drops to lowest level since June in November
December 14, 2022
Inflation dropped to 7.4% in November from October’s 7.6%.