DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 20 (Reuters) – South Africa’s central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Tuesday that inflation was on course to meet the bank’s new target of 3% in 2026 as prices remained stable.
With annual inflation for 2025 due to be released on Wednesday, Kganyago said the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) expected it between 3.2% and 3.4% (ZACPIY=ECI), opens new tab.
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Last year, South Africa’s government and central bank lowered the inflation target for the first time in 25 years to 3%, with a one-percentage-point tolerance band on either side. The bank had initially forecast that being reached by 2027.
“We expect that inflation this year would average 3.6% … if you break that inflation across the categories … all of them have got a three handle which then says that we are on course even for 2026 to meet our new inflation target,” Kganyago told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meetings in Davos.
The central bank’s main lending rate is currently at 6.75% (ZAREPO=ECI), opens new tab.
Kganyago said that under the bank’s projection model, there was still scope for another two 25 basis points of rate cuts this year.
The first meeting of the South African Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will be held next week.
Reporting by Divya Chowdhury, Ankida Biswas and Mehnaz Yasmin;
Writing by Kopano Gumbi in Johannesburg;
Editing by Andrew Cawthorne
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