Second, South Africa’s inflation target credibility helped to dampen the initial waves of global inflation, keeping inflation expectations muted for some time.17 Third, the depth of our domestic capital markets has limited exposure to swings in hard currency interest rates, while South Africa’s net international investment position has remained positive in rand terms, suggesting little needed change in what is a beneficial level of international financial integration.
  In the near term, total CPI inflation is expected to remain above 3 per cent, largely reflecting temporary factors such as significantly higher food and energy prices.