Interest rate expected to remain unchanged: economist
An economist says we are unlikely to see an interest rate hike on Thursday.
Dawie Roodt says the South African economy remains vulnerable amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent unrest.
He believes the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will leave interest rates unchanged.
The central bank's governor Lesetja Kganyago will brief on the committee’s meeting on Thursday afternoon.
"Well, the inflation rate came down a little bit in June, coming in at 4.9 percent, which was a little bit higher than expectations,” says Roodt.
"But I think the reality is the South African economy is not doing very well. I think chances are quite good that the Reserve Bank will not do anything about interest until well into next year."
At its May meeting, the MPC left the repo rate unchanged at 3,5%, which kept the prime lending rate at 7%.
