South African rates left unchanged as Marcus steps down

The decision by the South African Reserve Bank to leave interest rates unchanged at 5.75% today was overshadowed by the announcement that Governor Marcus will step down in November. Whoever assumes her role will inherit a tricky balancing act, facing weak growth but above target inflation and a gaping current account deficit. For now, we remain of the view that the MPC will continue to gradually tighten monetary conditions over the coming months.