South Africa Lowers Interest Rates for First Time Since 2020
- Rate cut by 25 basis points, in line with market forecasts
- Central bank also considered a 50 basis-point cut, and a hold
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South Africa’s central bank cut interest rates for the first time in four years and signaled a more optimistic outlook for inflation.
The monetary policy committee reduced its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 8%, Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters at a briefing north of Johannesburg on Thursday. That matched the median estimate of 24 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Only one analyst had penciled in a 50 basis-point cut.