The Reserve Bank held interest rates steady‚ as widely expected‚ on Tuesday‚ at the monetary policy committee’s first meeting of the year.
While economists have cautioned against calling an end to the tightening cycle and the start of lower interest rates — especially after consumer inflation came in at 6.8% last week — they did not expect an increase.
Tuesday’s decision left the repo rate unchanged at 7%. The Bank has raised rates by 75 basis points since the start of 2015‚ and by 200 basis points since January 2014.
The last rate increase was 25 basis points in March 2016‚ and followed a 50-point rise in January 2016.
Reserve Bank leaves repo rate unchanged AT 7%
While economists have cautioned against calling an end to the tightening cycle and the start of lower interest rates — especially after consumer inflation came in at 6.8% last week — they did not expect an increase.
Tuesday’s decision left the repo rate unchanged at 7%. The Bank has raised rates by 75 basis points since the start of 2015‚ and by 200 basis points since January 2014.
The last rate increase was 25 basis points in March 2016‚ and followed a 50-point rise in January 2016.
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