PRETORIA (Reuters) -South Africa’s central bank cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 7.00% on Thursday and said it would now aim for the bottom of its inflation target range.
The rate cut was in line with the median forecast of economists polled by Reuters.
The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee was unanimous in its decision, central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago told a press conference.
“We have decided to aim for the bottom of our inflation target range, of 3%-6%, … this would expand policy space and make our framework more robust to shocks,” Kganyago said.
Headline inflation in Africa’s largest economy rose to 3.0% year on year in June from 2.8% in May after being below it for three months.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) also trimmed its policy rate by 25 basis points at its previous meeting in May.
(Reporting by Kopano Gumbi and Sfundo Parakozov;Editing by Alexander Winning)
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