2  South Africa was no exception to these trends: in the past decade, our policy rate averaged 6.1%, down from 15.4% in the 1990s and 9.9% in the 2000s. On the positive side, greater compliance with the 3−6% inflation target range3 and lower inflation volatility have allowed for lower average policy rates and lower volatility of the monetary policy cycle.
On a less favourable angle, the trend in real GDP growth lost momentum throughout the past decade, a pattern which is only partly attributable to global trends but mainly reflects domestic supply constraints such as limits to the availability of electricity or critical skills. 3.