SARB to cut rates sooner than expected

Traders brought forward their bets for South Africa’s first interest rate cut to March 2024 after the amount of money flowing into the economy and loans to the private sector recorded their weakest growth in almost two years. Growth in money supply and private credit extension rose less than expected at 6% and 3.9% in October respectively from a year earlier. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey was for growth of 7.1% and 4.3% respectively.Forward-rate agreements used to speculate on borrowing costs show traders are now pricing in a 25-basis-point rate cut in March, which is sooner than most economists expect. Before the data release, those bets had been for a rate cut in May.The slowdown in both indicators may be signaling strain in households and corporates’ finances from higher interest rates. Prior to holding borrowing costs in July and at two subsequent meetings, the central bank’s monetary policy committee raised interest rates by a cumulative 475 basis points since November 2021 to tame inflation.Governor Lesetja Kganyago said last week that with rates at 8.25%, policy is restrictive, consistent with the inflation outlook and elevated inflation expectations. “Serious upside risks to the inflation outlook remain” and the MPC stands ready to act should risks begin to materialise, he said.Price pressures have been above the midpoint of the bank’s 3% to 6% inflation target range, where the MPC prefers to anchor expectations, for more than two years.The last monetary policy announcement for the year by the Bank of Namibia (BoN) is expected to take place next week Wednesday. At the previous two monetary policy announcements, the central bank decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 7.75%. Market Watch recently reported that despite the 0.50% differential in interest rates between Namibia and South Africa, the Bank of Namibia is not concerned about capital outflows. As at 31 October 2023, the preliminary foreign exchange level stood at N$53.369 billion, sufficient for 5.5 months of import cover. According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), Namibia’s import bill stood at N$N$7.8 billion in September.Meanwhile, inflation in October stood at 6%, NSA said. The Bank of Namibia projects inflation to average 5.9% in 2023. -Fin24-Additional Reporting by Phillepus Uusiku

SARB to cut rates sooner than expected

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-14

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SARB to cut rates sooner than expected

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-14

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