Why does this matter to me?

Not surprisingly, two overriding themes emanated from the Monetary Policy Forum held by the Reserve Bank. The first is that the Bank is clearly concerned about the possibility of significant currency depreciation if high tariffs are imposed on South African exports to the US. This seems to preclude an early reduction in the repo rate. Secondly, such tariffs are likely to reduce South Africa’s growth outlook. Despite this, we believe that analysts and the Reserve Bank may well be underestimating the hit to growth emanating from a more general downturn in global economic activity.