South Africa's central bank was unexpectedly decisive in cutting interest rates on Thursday, with all members of its Monetary Policy Committee backing a cut as they doubled down on their preference for a lower inflation target.

The South African rand was flat in early trade, as traders held off from big bets before the central bank’s interest rate decision on Thursday. At 0645 GMT, the rand traded at 17.9725 against the dollar,

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted to cut the country’s interest rates by 25 basis points. This brings the repo rate down to 7.25% and the prime lending rate to 10.75%.