The Reserve Bank has taken flak for split votes at the most recent meeting of its monetary policy committee (MPC), with concern being voiced that this sends out "confusing signals". In April, the Bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points, for the second time in five years, citing the improved inflation outlook and a reprieve from credit ratings agency Moody’s. At one of the Bank’s regular round-table discussions with economists on Friday, an economist said that while they had expected the repo rate to be cut to 6.5%, it was worrying that the decision was not unanimous as four members voted for a cut while three argued for rates to remain unchanged. The MPC consensus, as represented by its statement, indicated that the MPC saw the risks as more or less balanced but the split vote illustrated a lack of consensus within the MPC, said Absa senior economist Peter Worthington. "The messaging is very confusing and the markets don’t know how to interpret MPC statements with split votes," h...
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