South Africa's central bank on Thursday raised the benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.75% despite weak economic growth, saying delaying the adjustment could cause inflation expectations to become entrenched at higher levels.

"The Committee continues to assess the stance of monetary policy to be accommodative," Governor Lesetja Kganyago told a news conference after the South African Reserve Bank's (SARB) monetary policy committee concluded the last of its six annual meetings.

"Monetary policy actions will continue to focus on anchoring inflation expectations near the mid-point of the inflation target range in the interest of balanced and sustainable growth."