No change to interest rates

By Mandisi Tyulu
10 October 2008

Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni has announced that the bank's Monetary Policy Committee has decided to keep the repurchase rate steady at 12-percent.

This went against worldwide trends to cut rates.

Commercial banks’ prime lending rates will remain at 15-and-half-percent.

Mboweni says forecasts show a moderate improvement to South Africa’s economic outlook, mainly on account of lower oil prices.

But the weakening of the rand has emerged as a significant risk factor.