Local & International Outlook
Many red-letter days coming up in July
Economy Watch with Asha Speckman
Tax season opens in July but it is the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee meeting later in the month that will set the tone over the coming weeks. The central bank was forecast to cut interest rates this year as the pace of inflation continued to ease into the second half of the year. Declining economic momentum, weak business and consumer confidence and the credit rating downgrades have quickened the requirement for rate cuts. But economists are divided over how soon the Reserve Bank should lower interest rates to boost consumer spending — given that the economy contracted by 0.7% in the first quarter of 2017, tipping the economy into recession for the second time in eight years. The committee will meet over three days from July 18-20 and is expected to cut 25 basis points at a time. At this meeting the bank may again lower its growth forecast. This would be the first time the committee has cut rates in at least five years. In July 2012, the committee lowered the rate to 5% b...
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