The South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) has increased the repo rate by 50 basis points to 4.75%, as runaway inflation continues depreciating the rand.
This means that, from today, the prime lending rate will increase to 8.25%.
Sarb governor Lesetja Kganyago said there were concerns about the inflation outlook.
“The bank’s forecast of headline inflation for this year is revised higher to 5.9% [from 5.8%], primarily due to the higher food and fuel prices,” he said.
There were a number of factors driving inflation including electricity and oil prices impacted by the war in Ukraine.