The Reserve Bank has decided to keep rates unchanged at 3.5%, in line with the expectations of economists.
Governor Lesetja Kganyago made the announcement on Thursday afternoon, following the bank's Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) first meeting for the year this week. Two of the MPC's five members were in favour of a cut.
The MPC expects inflation to remain "well contained" in 2021, before rising to around the midpoint in 2022 and 2023, said Kganyago.
The Reserve Bank also revised its growth forecast for 2020 to -7.1% from -8% at the last meeting. It expects growth to remain muted in the first quarter of 2021. Overall 2021 growth is projected at 3.6%.
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