SA's growth outlook worries Sarb

Johannesburg - South Africa's monetary policy stance remains accommodative and its tightening cycle would have been more aggressive had economic growth been buoyant, deputy SA Reserve Bank (Sarb) governor Francois Groepe said on Friday.

"The moderate nature of the tightening cycle is due to our concern over the growth outlook," Groepe said in a speech posted on the bank's website.

"Furthermore, real interest rates remain relatively low, implying an accommodative monetary policy stance despite the tightening."

The Sarb has hiked the key benchmark rate - now standing at 7% - by a cumulative 200 basis points since January 2014 in a bid to bring inflation within its target band of between 3 and 6%.

The Sarb's latest forecast is for 0% growth in 2016 compared with 0.6% previously.