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Johannesburg – Commercial banks trimmed their weighted average overdraft rate to 8.65% in February from 8.67% in January. The rate is now 85 basis points below its January 2012 level‚ data from the South African Reserve Bank showed on Monday.
Over the same 13-month period‚ the Bank cut its benchmark lending rate‚ the repo rate‚ by 50 basis points to 5.0%‚ while the commercial banks cut their deposit rates‚ as reflected by their 12-month fixed deposit rate‚ by 40 basis points to 5.31%.
Despite the easing in lending rates‚ consumers have been hard hit by the quarterly drop in employment of 68 000 in the fourth quarter‚ so real retail sales growth eased to 1.9% year in year (y/y) in January according to Statistics SA from 2.2% y/y in December‚ 3.6% y/y in November and 5.2% y/y in the first eight months of last year.
The February retail sales data is due on Wednesday.
Another reason for the easing in retail sales growth was the drop in consumer confidence to a 9-year low in the first quarter. The FNB/BER consumer confidence index slumped to -7 in the first quarter from -3 in the fourth quarter and 2 in the third quarter. The average since 1994 has been 6.
Over the same 13-month period‚ the Bank cut its benchmark lending rate‚ the repo rate‚ by 50 basis points to 5.0%‚ while the commercial banks cut their deposit rates‚ as reflected by their 12-month fixed deposit rate‚ by 40 basis points to 5.31%.
Despite the easing in lending rates‚ consumers have been hard hit by the quarterly drop in employment of 68 000 in the fourth quarter‚ so real retail sales growth eased to 1.9% year in year (y/y) in January according to Statistics SA from 2.2% y/y in December‚ 3.6% y/y in November and 5.2% y/y in the first eight months of last year.
The February retail sales data is due on Wednesday.
Another reason for the easing in retail sales growth was the drop in consumer confidence to a 9-year low in the first quarter. The FNB/BER consumer confidence index slumped to -7 in the first quarter from -3 in the fourth quarter and 2 in the third quarter. The average since 1994 has been 6.
