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Johannesburg - The Reserve Bank left the repo rate unchanged at 5.5% on Thursday, giving indebted consumers a breather.
Although the bank has signalled its concern over rising inflation, leaving rates unchanged indicates its desire to support an economic recovery that has been mixed.
A Reuters poll of 21 economists had all agreed the rate would be held steady, although some predicted an increase towards the end of the year.
Some economists have, however, pushed out their expectations of a hike after May retail sales on Wednesday showed no growth, adding to the weak domestic demand picture painted by manufacturing data last week. Consumer inflation for May came in at 5.0% year-on-year (y/y) in June from 4.6% y/y in May.
Although the bank has signalled its concern over rising inflation, leaving rates unchanged indicates its desire to support an economic recovery that has been mixed.
A Reuters poll of 21 economists had all agreed the rate would be held steady, although some predicted an increase towards the end of the year.
Some economists have, however, pushed out their expectations of a hike after May retail sales on Wednesday showed no growth, adding to the weak domestic demand picture painted by manufacturing data last week. Consumer inflation for May came in at 5.0% year-on-year (y/y) in June from 4.6% y/y in May.
