The wording of the statement is agreed upon in the foregoing meeting, and thus it presents the consensual assessment of the Governing Council. It portrays the Council’s deliberations through the lenses of the two pillar strategy. And it puts into perspective the linkages between data, decisions and stated medium-term policy objectives.
Swaps previously conducted to sterilise foreign exchange purchases amounting to R16.2 billion were matured, which increased the level of gross reserves, but were offset by sizeable valuation adjustments during the year emanating from the appreciation of the US dollar against other major currencies and the decline in the gold price.