South Africa’s inflation rate held steady near the ceiling of the central bank’s target range on the eve of what’s expected to be the biggest interest-rate hike in more than six years.
Annual inflation was 5.9% in April, unchanged from the prior month, Statistics South Africa said Wednesday in a statement on its website. That matched the median of 13 economists’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey.
The rate of price-growth, stoked by record-high fuel prices and rising food costs, has topped 4.5% for a full year, with the breach of the ceiling of the official target now creating room for an aggressive rate hike on Thursday. That’s as inflationary risks posed by a weaker rand and more hawkish stances by the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank reduce the appeal of local assets for offshore investors, outweighing concerns about the deterioration in domestic economic growth prospects.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
5 important things happening in South Africa todayEskom’s COO says that the root cause of Eskom’s failure started in 2012. A draft discussion paper proposes radical changes to free housing. Former president Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial returns to court. Ubank, a bank to roughly 4.7 million people, is said to remain operational despite being under curatorship.
Read more »
Miss South Africa Top 30 announced | Channel'The 30 hopefuls are an impressive and diverse group and include an estate agent, a corporate lawyer, a veterinarian, a forensic science graduate, teachers, models, entrepreneurs and law students,' reads a press statement.
Read more »
PlayStation Plus library — what South Africa will get for R179 per monthSony has revealed a long line-up of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games that will be available on its new PlayStation Plus subscriptions.
Read more »
South Africa places Ubank under administrationSouth Africa placed Ubank Ltd, a lender partly managed by mine workers, under administration.
Read more »