Reserve Bank Cuts Repo Rate to 6.75% in Unanimous MPC Decision
PRETORIA, 20 November 2025. The South African Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.75%, effective 21 November 2025, lowering the prime lending rate to 10.25% and continuing an easing cycle that began in September 2024.
Reserve Bank Cuts Repo Rate to 6.75% in Unanimous MPC Decision
PRETORIA, 20 November 2025. The South African Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.75%, effective 21 November 2025, lowering the prime lending rate to 10.25% and continuing an easing cycle that began in September 2024.
Governor Lesetja Kganyago said the committee determined "there was scope now to make the policy stance less restrictive, in the context of an improved inflation outlook." Headline inflation stood at 3.6% in October 2025, up from an average of 3% in the first half of the year, but the MPC attributed the recent rise primarily to non-core items including food and fuel, which it described as temporary.
The MPC revised its 2025 growth forecast upward slightly to 1.3%, while noting that growth was "better, but not yet healthy." The bank expects the economy to approach 2% growth over the medium-term forecast horizon, contingent on continued progress in structural reforms across energy, logistics, and the regulatory environment.
The November decision coincided with a formal change in the Reserve Bank's monetary policy anchor. Following the announcement in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement of 12 November, the SARB adopted a new point inflation target of 3%, plus or minus one percentage point, replacing the 3%-6% band that had been in place since 2000. Kganyago emphasised that the bank's objective is to target precisely 3%, not to allow inflation to drift anywhere within the new band.
The rate cut is expected to reduce mortgage costs for South African homeowners and provide modest relief to indebted households. The next MPC meeting is scheduled for 29 January 2026.
The SARB had maintained rates at 8.25% for an extended period before beginning its easing cycle. The November 2025 cut of 25 basis points follows cuts in September 2024, November 2024, January 2025, and July 2025, bringing cumulative reductions to 150 basis points over the cycle.