The South African Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left the repo rate unchanged at 7% on Thursday, in somewhat of a surprise move. Sarb governor Lesetja Kganyago said while the MPC “sees upside risks to inflation,” the committee decided to keep the policy rate unchanged, at 7%. “The forecast from our Quarterly Projection Model shows the policy rate broadly stable through the remainder of the year. The model shows cuts later in the forecast, as inflation falls to 3% and rates adjust towards neutral levels,” he added. “The model therefore sees tighter policy, with one more rate hike than the baseline forecast, and rates staying higher-for longer after that,” Kganyago said.