South Africa cuts interest rate to 7.5% as inflation rises

By Mary Adenike 

South Africa’s central bank on Thursday reduced its Monetary Policy Rate for a third straight meeting to 7.5 percent, according to Bloomberg.

The six-member monetary policy committee reduced its benchmark rate by 25 basis points, Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters at the briefing north of Johannesburg.

This come three days before Ghana retained its rate at 27 percent for the third straight time.

“In the near term, inflation appears well contained. However, the medium-term outlook is more uncertain than usual, with material risks from the external environment,” the governor said. 

“The MPC would like to emphasize that its decisions will be made on a meeting-by-meeting basis, with no forward guidance and no pre-commitment to any specific rate path.”

Inflation in the continent’s biggest economy, rose for the second time to 3.0  percent in December last year from 2.9 percent in the previous month.