Tag: Lesetja Kganyago

President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver his maiden State of the Nation Address (SONA) on 16 February 2018. The annual speech kicks off the Parliamentary year and focuses on the country’s current political and economic situation. Regarding the latter, South Africa experienced deteriorating economic conditions during 2014-2017, and there is great hope for an improvement in economic growth during 2018 under the new administration.

Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) reported on 24 January that consumer price inflation increased from 4.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) in November 2017 to 4.7% y-o-y in December. This resulted in full-year inflation declining to 5.3% last year from a mean of 6.4% in 2016. The latest inflation number is the ninth consecutive monthly reading falling within the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) target range (3%-6%).

There were no surprises today when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) delivered its first monetary policy statement for the year. Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago announced that the repo rate remains unchanged at 6.75 percent.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is meeting on 17 and 18 January to deliberate interest rates. The central bank’s monetary policy stance aims to keep inflation in the target range of 3%-6% annually, thereby protecting the value of the currency and the purchasing power of South African consumers.