The CPI inflation rate has since come back within the 3 – 6 per cent target range, and looks likely to decelerate in the months ahead, given evidence of softer food prices and moderating demand. The Bank expects inflation to decelerate to 4.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2013 and remain stable around 5 per cent to the end of 2014.
Like other countries, South Africa is drawing lessons from the financial crisis and the changing role of central banks. Our mandate has been clarified to more explicitly include a financial stability responsibility, and we are working on clarifying the role of financial stability in monetary policy formulation and implementation, having elevated the status of the Financial Stability Committee in the Bank.