South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (C) interacts with local residents. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP)
South Africa’s central bank raised its main interest rate again to battle inflation on Thursday, but at a slower pace as it forecast weak economic growth following rolling power blackouts.
Central banks worldwide have been raising rates to tame soaring consumer prices.
South African monetary policymakers started raising rates in November 2021 and unleashed their steepest hike in a decade — 0.75 percentage points — in July last year.
After two more 0.75-percentage-point increases, the central bank said Thursday it was lifting the rate by 0.25 percentage points.
The benchmark rate now stands at 7.25 percent.
The central bank said it expects inflation to slow to 5.4 percent in 2023, compared to 6.9 percent last year.
“The revised repurchase rate remains supportive of credit demand in the near term, while raising rates to levels more consistent with the current view of inflation and risks to it,” governor Lesetja Kganyago told a news conference in Pretoria.
The bank said that the economy is expected to grow by just 0.3 percent in 2023 due to the electricity supply crisis plaguing the continent’s most industrialised economy.
The economy grew 2.5 percent last year, up from 1.8 percent in 2021.
he called on the Chairman of INEC to call the leadership of INEC in Abia state to order so they…
The LP governorship candidate cast his vote on Saturday alongside his wife, Priscilla Otti at about 11:20 am.
The Commission said that the suspects were nabbed across the 28 states where governorship elections were held.
According to the police commissioner, most of the instances were "properly responded to by the police because we anticipated them".
The CBN had redesigned the N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes, banning the use of the old notes to counter vote-buying.
421 voters were registered at the unit but only 50 were accredited.