20100208

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa is looking at whether it should maintain stimulus measures as the economy has not been severely affected by a global economic slowdown, central bank deputy governor Xolile Guma was quoted as saying.

"Certainly in South Africa, we've been taking a look at it, because we were not affected as seriously as other people," Guma said in an interview with Bloomberg News in Sydney on Sunday, without being more specific.

The South African Reserve Bank cut interest rates by 5 percentage points between December 2008 and August 2009 to help stimulate an economy that experienced its first recession since 1992.

The central bank last month left the repo rate flat at 7.0 percent for the fourth time but did not rule out another rate cut.

The economy exited the recession in the third quarter of 2009 and is expected to grow by an average 2.63 percent in 2010, the Reuters Econometer poll shows.

The economy "will continue going forward in the absence of any external shock, which isn't anticipated", Guma said.

He also said fallout from concerns about deficits in some European countries could be quite serious.

The local bourse followed global stocks lower last week, partly as concerns about debt problems in some European countries weighed on sentiment, while the rand fell to a 3-month low on Friday, but later rebounded.

The rand gained about 30 percent against the dollar in 2009, raising concerns its strength could harm the economy.

Guma said while the strength of the rand is a "matter of concern ... the policy of the bank is not to intervene in order to establish any particular rate for the rand".