The South African Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee will probably leave interest rates steady on Thursday without calling an end to the rate-hike cycle, as they confront rand volatility caused by Donald Trump’s election as US president and local political turmoil. Inflation that slowed from a peak of 7% in February and an economy at its weakest state since a recession in 2009 prompted the central bank to hold the benchmark rate at 7% since March. All 19 economists in a Bloomberg survey said the monetary policy committee would keep borrowing costs unchanged on Thursday, after raising rates two percentage points since January 2014. "I don’t expect any form of surprises, except to hear a lot about the uncertainties," Elize Kruger, an economist for KADD Capital in Johannesburg, said by phone. "Where we are now, the option for a hike should not even be considered. Given the state of our economy, I don’t think they will even discuss that." The rand slid the most in five years after...
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