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SARB Repo Rate in South Africa
The South African Reserve Bank's policy rates over the last decade reflected the country's economic challenges. Initially, rates were increased to combat inflation and stabilize the Rand. However, in 2020, in response to the COVID-19 economic fallout, rates were significantly reduced to historic lows to support economic growth. By 2022, as the economy began recovering and inflationary pressures emerged, the central bank started increasing rates, before mild monetary easing in 2024.
The sarb repo rate ended 2024 at 7.75%, compared to the end-2023 value of 8.25% and the figure a decade earlier of 5.75%. It averaged 6.30% over the last decade. For more interest rate information, visit our dedicated page.
South Africa Interest Rate Chart
Note: This chart displays Policy Interest Rate (%) for South Africa from 2014 to 2025.
Source: Macrobond.
South Africa Interest Rate Data
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SARB Repo Rate (%, eop) | 3.50 | 3.75 | 7.00 | 8.25 | 7.75 |
| 3-Month JIBAR (%, eop) | 3.87 | 3.85 | 6.50 | 8.43 | 7.71 |
| 10-Year Bond Yield (%, eop) | 9.70 | 9.82 | 11.30 | 11.33 | 10.32 |
SARB cuts rates in November and adopts new inflation target
SARB lowers interest rates and its inflation target: At its meeting on 20 November, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) resumed its loosening cycle and reduced its repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.75%. The cut followed two same-sized reductions in May and July, before a pause in September. The decision was unanimous, had been priced in by markets, and followed the formal adoption of a new, lower inflation target of 3.0% on 12 November.
Improved inflation outlook drives cut: The decision to reduce rates was driven by an improvement in the inflation outlook. Despite accelerating in October, inflation slightly undershot the Bank’s expectations. This, coupled with a recently stronger rand and expectations of lower oil prices ahead, led to the inflation outlook to improve: The SARB cut its 2026 inflation forecast to 3.5% from 3.6%, and it kept its 2027 projection at 3.1%—just a sliver above the new target. Regarding economic activity, the Bank raised its 2025 GDP growth forecast by 0.1 percentage points to 1.3%, while it kept its projections for 2026 and 2027 at 1.4% and 1.9%, respectively.
Further rate reductions in store in 2026: The Central Bank provided no explicit forward guidance on the future direction of interest rates. That said, the Bank forecasts its repo rate to end 2026 just below 6.25%, which largely mirrors our Consensus for around 50 basis points of cuts next year. The SARB will reconvene on 29 January 2026.
Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects South African interest rate projections for the next ten years from a panel of 14 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable interest rate forecast available for South African interest rate.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our South African interest rate projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of South African interest rate forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
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