By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The South African Reserve Bank has refused to make changes to any of its rates. This is coming barely three days after its Nigerian counterpart also left its rates unchanged.
Governor of the South Africa’s central bank, Mr Lesetja Kganyago, disclosed that the risk to inflation from the exchange rate appears to have slightly weakened.
He said the country’s repo rate will remain unchanged in September at 7 per cent, in line with forecasts by economists.
He, however, admitted that inflation was set to be slightly higher in the short-term, but stressed that consumer prices are expected to fall within target by next year.
Mr Kganyago noted that while domestic economic growth prospects appear more favourable following the positive surprise in the second quarter of 2016, the outlook, however, remains constrained against a backdrop of weak domestic fixed investment and low levels of business and consumer confidence.