The SARB faces similar challenges in South Africa, which have become all the more pressing given recent domestic developments that have focused increasing attention on the Bank. While the global crisis continues, the challenges have been compounded by recent South African idiosyncratic developments. I will address these issues today, and make a few comments about the current stance of monetary policy.
The global crisis continues to mutate and it is still not clear what direction it is going to take next. Systemic banking issues, liquidity, fiscal deficits, unsustainable sovereign debt, recession and extremely low growth, fiscal austerity and rising unemployment, particularly in the Eurozone, as well as the danger in some countries of deflation, remain the key challenges facing many of the advanced economies.