UASA Media Release: 20 March 2025
Statement by Abigail Moyo, spokesperson of the trade union UASA:
The decision to keep the repo rate unchanged at 7.5% by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) as a cautious move to monitor the global economic outlook is welcome. In January, the repo rate was cut by 25 basis points to 7.5%, while the prime rate reached 11%.
While the inflation rate appears to be contained at present, SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago said the world is experiencing extreme levels of uncertainty, “and there are also domestic uncertainties which put favourable trends at risk. This calls for a cautious policy approach.”
Regarding the outlook, Kganyago stated that the current forecast had more moving parts than usual, including a reweighting of the Consumer Price Index by Stats SA and the proposed Value Added Tax increases announced in the Budget earlier this month.
With assumptions such as the oil price to reflect shifts in global markets also adjusted, the overall result of these changes is a marginally lower inflation outlook, with headline now projected at 3.6% this year and 4.5% next year. This is mainly due to the better fuel-price projections.
In April, fuel prices are expected to decrease again, which is good news for motorists ahead of the busy Easter holiday travel period.
We hope the economic outlook will continue to favour consumers and that the next MPC meeting will result in a rate cut and further financial relief for South Africans.
For further enquiries or to set up a personal interview, contact Abigail Moyo at 065 170 0162.