fed ’ s federal open market committee indicates that the measured pace of us interest rate increases is likely to continue in 2019. in japan, the benchmark interest rate is in negative territory and large - scale asset purchases remain underway. the european central bank is gradually becoming less accommodative as it tapers its asset purchase programme, but it is guiding for its benchmark deposit rate to remain slightly below 0 % for at least another year. the uk, meanwhile, has hiked its benchmark interest rate twice since last year when it was at its lowest level of the cycle. thus, two important trends are apparent. first, monetary policy in the advanced economies is becoming less accomodative overall. second, the us is far more advanced in its tightening cycle, no longer describing its policy stance as accommodative. as a result, global financing conditions are tightening. 2 international monetary fund. ( october 2018 ). world economic outlook database. page 2 of 8 it has historically been the case that upswings in the us interest rate cycle have given rise to growth and financial stability risks in the emerging markets. on the whole, emerging markets appear to be relatively more resilient today than they were in the 1990s, for example, when rising us interest rates precipitated a widespread crisis. this resilience has in part been supported by the development of domestic capital markets ( which reduces reliance on external debt ), a movement towards more flexible exchange rate regimes, and increased self - insurance through the build - up of substantial foreign - currency reserve buffers. nevertheless, us policy continues to meaningfully affect financial conditions elsewhere due to the widespread use of us treasury bonds as a global risk - free benchmark as well as the dominant role that the dollar plays in global trade and finance. furthermore, it has recently been estimated that countries representing more than half of global gdp have principally anchored their currencies to the us dollar3, which implies a link between the monetary policy of these countries and that of the us. for many emerging markets, the tightening global financing conditions are giving rise to capital outflows. while the forecast for emerging market and developing economies is one of gradually accelerating growth over the medium term1, these capital outflows are exposing vulnerabilities in some countries. moreover, they are giving rise to currency weakness and, in turn, higher inflation across a number of emerging economies. south africa has been no exception. global financial market volatility

long - run investment and growth, and thus fulfil its constitutional mandate of ‘ protecting the value of the currency in the interest of balanced and sustainable economic growth in the republic ’. concluding remarks the mpc faces a difficult balancing act. we do not want to unduly constrain an already weak economy, but we must also ensure that the average south african ’ s purchasing power remains intact. hence, the repo rate may rise gradually over the medium term, in a manner consistent with keeping inflation inside the target range. however, we are not bound to any particular path of action. rather, the mpc will continue to conduct policy commensurate with the forecast and the balance of risks as these stand at the time of each meeting. thank you. page 8 of 8