The bank, which slashed its repo rate by 300 basis points last year to a record low, has now left the rate on hold for seven successive meetings. Rate-setters were unanimous in the latest decision.
The monetary policy committee said inflation was expected to stay close to the midpoint of the bank's 3% to 6% target range over its three-year forecast horizon.
The repo rate path in the bank's Quarterly Projection Model indicated a 25 basis point increase in the fourth quarter of this year and further increases in each quarter of 2022 and 2023.
"These repurchase rate levels reflect a highly accommodative policy stance through the end of the forecast, keeping financial conditions supportive of credit demand as the economy continues to recover," the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said in a statement.
The bank now forecasts economic growth of 5.3% this year, from 4.2% at its July rate meeting, mainly due to a better than expected performance in the first half of the year when sectors like mining expanded strongly.
"Most of the bounceback from the recovery is now in the past. High export prices are expected to fade, while very weak job creation will slow household consumption," the SARB said.
The central bank of Africa's most industrialised nation sees headline consumer price inflation averaging 4.4% this year, slightly higher than 4.3% previously.
In keeping rates on hold for so long, the SARB has diverged from some other emerging market central banks like those of Russia and Brazil which have raised borrowing costs as inflation has risen.
Earlier this month SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago made the case for moving to an inflation "point target" of around 3% or 4% with a margin of error either side. But on Thursday Kganyago said he had not discussed the idea yet with the finance minister.
(Additional reporting by Promit Mukherjee and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
By Alexander Winning
