South Africa’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point to 5.5 percent the steepest hike in a decade.
The move announced a day after South Africa reported a 13-year high in inflation was the fourth rate hike in a row, as the South African Reserve Bank voiced concerns over high inflation and weak economic growth.
Governor Lesetja Kganyago says the central bank decided to increase the repurchase rate by 75 basis points to 5.50 percent per year with effect from Friday.
Kganyago says the rate increase aimed to help bring inflation back down to the bank’s target band of three to six percent.