South Africa’s central bank maintained its key repo rate at a 14-year high of 8.25%, marking a pause in its tightening cycle after ten consecutive rate hikes. The bank’s Governor emphasized that this does not mark the end of the rate hike cycle, with future decisions contingent on inflation trends. Policymakers now expect a slightly lower inflation rate of 6% for the year. The economy’s growth forecast for this year has been raised marginally to 0.4%.