Even with this large reduction, we are still far from the zero lower bound and can still rely on interest rates before having to consider QE-type measures, should economic conditions  1 SARB media release, ‘Changes to the money market liquidity management strategy of the South African Reserve  Bank’, 20 March 2020, available here SARB media release, ‘Further amendments to the money market liquidity management strategy of the South African Reserve Bank and additions to the Monetary Policy Portfolio’, 25 March 2020, available here Prudential Authority media release, ‘Regulatory relief measures and guidance to the banking sector in response to COVID-19’, 6 April 2020, available here South African Reserve Bank, ‘Note on South Africa’s liquidity measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’, Quarterly Bulletin, June 2020, available here 2 See B S Bernanke, ‘The new tools of monetary policy’, American Economic Association Presidential Address, Brookings Institution, 4 January 2020, available here  2  deteriorate and inflation moderate further down towards the lower end of the inflation target.
3. Medium-term outlook for monetary policy  While our policy response to the COVID-19 crisis has helped in stabilising financial markets and containing risks of a financial crisis, the near-term outlook for the economy remains very uncertain, even though we predict a strong recovery in third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) from the second quarter’s low base.