Loans to the household sector are also growing, albeit at a low single-digit pace, with microlending activity particularly weak. Following a long period of negligible growth, the pace of increase in mortgage credit has started to firm in recent months. With global interest rates still relatively low, share prices continued to rally.
On the JSE, share prices reached record highs in the second quarter of 2015 but have subsequently receded as growth projections for China weakened which in turn contributed to the Chinese share market correcting from the exuberant levels previously reached. Further contributing factors included 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  softer commodity prices and expectations of an imminent increase in US interest rates.