Governor Kganyago Says Inflation Monster Must Be Beaten Before Central Bank Could Lower Rates

Local media outlets run comments from SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago who was presenting the biannual Financial Stability Review to parliament today. The Governor took the opportunity to defend the SARB's monetary policy decisions and said that while the central bank "takes no pleasure in people losing houses or losing cars," the fact is that "inflation is eroding the income of South Africans and something must be done (...) If we want lower rates, we have got to beat the monster of inflation."

• The Governor flagged the adverse consequences of South Africa's stance on Russia for domestic assets as the market is already behaving as if secondary sanctions were imposed on the sub-Saharan nation. Kganyago added that "South Africa's non-aligned stance in the war between Russia and Ukraine is increasingly being questioned."