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Article: Mboweni's lifeline to exporters: is the South African government having a change of heart on the rand's exchange rate? Hitherto, the repo rate was influenced solely on inflationary concerns, but as Tom Nevin reports, the Reserve Bank is now showing greater flexibility.(SOUTH AFRICA)
- Article from:
- African Business
- Article date:
- June 1, 2005
- Author:
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The pressure on the governor of the South African Reserve Bank to shift his attention from inflation targeting and further unshackle the national currency had been intense over the past five months. The fact that he finally buckled came as welcome, if somewhat short-lived, relief to South African industry, mining houses and countries in the region whose currencies are linked to the rand.
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Reserve Bank governor Tito Mbweni's decision to cut 0.5% off the earlier repo rate of 7.5% came as a welcome bolt from the blue for most of the country's business sector that had convinced itself that high oil prices and jittery inflation figures would ...