Interest rates. BUOYANT SENTIMENT ON INTEREST RATE CUTS NEXT YEAR.

(From Financial Mail)

Byline: Claire Bisseker

Interest rates BUOYANT SENTIMENT ON INTEREST RATE CUTS NEXT YEAR Rand and oil prices hold the key to future rate changes There is growing consensus among economists that the Reserve Bank will make no move on interest rates when it meets next week, and that it will continue to hold the repo rate steady at 8% for the rest of the year. But beyond that, the field is wide open.

Though many economists are shifting their forecasts for a rate hike from the latter part of this year to well into 2005 thanks to better-than-expected inflation data, there is a minority who argue that the next move in rates could be down - and they are growing in confidence.

Among them is Sanlam chief economist Jac Laubscher, who points out …