S.Africa further cuts interest rate amid virus pandemic
A prison guard stands next to a colleague appointed to sanitise the male section of the Johannesburg Correctional Centre also known as Sun City Prison, South Africa, on April 8, 2020. PHOTO | MICHELE SPATARI | AFP
What you need to know:
- South Africa, which has recorded the highest numbers of infection in sub-Saharan Africa, slipped into a recession during the final quarter of 2019.
- The virus outbreak prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to impose a total lockdown which kicked into action on March 27 and is due to run to end of April.
Johannesburg,
South Africa's central bank Tuesday slashed its main interest rate by a full percentage point, the second such cut in less than a month, as the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic deepens.
"The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank decided to cut the repo rate by 100 basis points. This takes the repo rate to 4.25 per cent per annum," the bank said in a statement.
This is the third cut this year.
On March 19, the bank cut the rate by one percentage point following a 0.25 percentage point cut in January.
South Africa, which has recorded the highest numbers of infection in sub-Saharan Africa, slipped into a recession during the final quarter of 2019.
The number of Covid-19 cases in the country has risen to 2,272, including 27 fatalities.
The virus outbreak prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to impose a total lockdown which kicked into action on March 27 and is due to run to end of April.
