Banking & Finance News South Africa

Repo rate remains unchanged at 5.5%

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to maintain the current monetary policy stance and keep the repurchase rate unchanged at 5.5%, announced Gill Marcus Reserve Bank Governor, on Thursday, 24 May 2012.

The repo rate stands at a more than 30-year low of 5.5%, with the prime interest rate at 9%.

Marcus was addressing media at the end of the normal three-day MPC meeting.

Earlier, Nedbank said the MPC would face the challenge of "striking the right balance between supporting a fragile economy in an increasingly uncertain global environment and preventing stubbornly high inflation from becoming entrenched".

The consumer price index (CPI) increased slightly in April, coming in at 6.1% year-on-year from the 6% recorded in March.

While inflation remains slightly above the 6% upper limit set by the South African Reserve Bank, it did not come as a shock as it was below market expectation of 6.2%, according to figures released by Statistics South Africa on Wednesday, 23 May.

Source: SAnews.gov.za

SAnews.gov.za is a South African government news service, published by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS). SAnews.gov.za (formerly BuaNews) was established to provide quick and easy access to articles and feature stories aimed at keeping the public informed about the implementation of government mandates.

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