World · South Africa · Questions

South African Reserve Bank: interest rates, exchange rates and statistics

The South African Reserve Bank is the central bank. It sets the repo rate through its Monetary Policy Committee and publishes daily interest and exchange rates, the Quarterly Bulletin and financial stability reports. Its home page carries a live panel of key indicators, also available as a JSON feed.

Release calendar

What it publishes

• The repo (policy) rate and the prime lending rate.
• Daily rand exchange rates against major currencies and the nominal effective exchange rate.
• Money-market rates including ZARONIA, SABOR and Treasury bill tender rates.
• The Quarterly Bulletin with national accounts, balance of payments, money and banking and public finance tables.
• Monetary Policy Committee statements, the Monetary Policy Review and the Financial Stability Review.

Key datasets

• Key indicators (home page)
  Policy rate, prime, CPI, PPI, bond yields and exchange rates. On 13 October 2026 it showed a 7.25% policy rate and R16.4601 per US dollar.
  Updated: Daily
• Key statistics
  Historical series for interest rates, exchange rates and other indicators.
  Updated: Daily to quarterly
• Quarterly Bulletin
  Economic review and statistical tables, with downloadable data files.
  Updated: Quarterly

APIs and downloads

• Home-page rates feed
  JSON list of the headline indicators with series code, date and value. No key needed.
• Current market rates feed
  JSON list of money-market and capital-market rates with dates.

When it publishes

Rates update daily. The Monetary Policy Committee announces repo-rate decisions after scheduled meetings published in advance; the Quarterly Bulletin is published four times a year.

How to use it to check a claim

1. Quote the date with any rate: the policy rate, prime and exchange rates are dated on the SARB panel.
2. For loan costs, use prime rather than the repo rate, since banks price most loans off prime.
3. For exchange-rate claims, note that SARB rates are reference rates, not retail rates.

Common mistakes

• The SARB republishes CPI from Stats SA; it does not compile it.
• Bond yields shown on the panel are closing yields for the previous trading day.

What is the difference between the repo rate and prime?

The repo rate is the rate at which the SARB lends to banks. Prime is the benchmark rate banks charge customers and has been 3.5 percentage points above repo.

Can I download SARB data?

Yes. The key indicators are available as a JSON feed, and the Quarterly Bulletin pages offer data files.

Questions answered using this source

• What is the interest rate in South Africa?
• What is the rand exchange rate today?
• What is the inflation rate in South Africa?

Links checked 14 October 2026. This page describes what the source publishes and gives no verdict on any claim.