When South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago and his colleagues on the monetary policy committee decided to cut interest rates in late March, they could hardly be accused of being reckless. The decision was a close-run thing and the accompanying statement was cautious about the outlook. It is almost safe to say that recent developments in currency and emerging markets will see that persist and anyone hoping for another cut anytime soon will be disappointed. That reduction, which took the benchmark rate to its lowest level in two years, came at a time when the country was in somewhat of a celebratory mood after Cyril Ramaphosa replaced Jacob Zuma as president in February, about two months after winning the leadership of the governing party. Good news on ratings, rising consumer and business confidence and a rand that was trading near its strongest level in about two years all added to the optimistic mood. Nothing much has changed since then and, if anything, the positive...
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