South Africa May Cut Rate by Half a Point

Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa's central bank may cut the benchmark interest rate for the first time in more than three years this week as the global credit crisis undermines economic growth and inflation eases.
The Reserve Bank will probably lower the repurchase rate by half a percentage point to 11.5 percent on Dec. 11, according to 12 of 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The rest predict the rate will stay unchanged.
Six interest rate increases since June last year have sapped consumer spending, helping push the retail industry into recession and restricting economic growth to a decade low. The central bank is under pressure to make its first interest-rate cut since April 2005 as plunging oil costs ease price pressures and a recession in much of Europe and the U.S. undermines demand for exports.