Cash-strapped South Africans are not set for any immediate financial relief, with above-inflation price increases lined up.
South Africa is currently a low-growth economy , with the latest unemployment figures ticking up to 32.9% in Q1 2024.However, cash-strapped households are unlikely to experience any relief in the near future, with further cost pressures predicted for the year ahead.Following an optimistic outlook for interest rate cuts at the start of the year, many economists now expect interest rates to remain higher for longer, with the repo rate currently at 8.25%.
Inflation cooled to 5.3% in March of this year but has continued to prove sticky, staying between 5% and 6% since September 2023. Some economists, including those at Nedbank, anticipate at least two rate cuts in 2024 – 25 basis points in September and November – but other projections are starting to believe that the central bank will continue to hold on to rates for the rest of the year.South African consumers have or are expected to experience above-inflation electricity increases.
An average Eskom customer using 200 kWh per month in urban Gauteng will now pay roughly R790 monthly. Johannesburg’s City Power uses a block system. Block 1 offers the cheapest power, which slowly climbs in price with further usage. In block 1, residents in Johannesburg pay over R200 less than their Mother City and Eskom counterparts.eThekwini customers are set to pay the most for electricity, with the city pencilling in a 14% increase in electricity for 2024/25.
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.
South Africa: Xenophobic Narratives Surge Ahead of South Africa's ElectionsAs South Africa's general elections on May 29th draw near, anti-immigrant rhetoric is intensifying across social media platforms, according to a new report from the Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC).
Read more »
South Africa: Analysis Reveals Polarized Views on South Africa's Electoral ProcessA new report by the Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC) sheds light on the polarized online conversation about South Africa's upcoming elections. The report, titled 'Bi-Weekly Social Listening Updates & Recommendations for Electoral Engagement 7,' analyzed over 350,000 mentions between April 16 and April 30, 2024.
Read more »
South Africa: Science Journalism in South Africa - Social Media Is Helping Connect With New ReadersAnalysis - Science journalism is about taking complex academic research and turning it into easy-to-read content that is still accurate. Aside from informing readers through evidence-based journalism, it aims to make the wider public curious about scientific research.
Read more »
Unilever South Africa: Committed to enhancing the lives of the people of South AfricaPredicted spend over 2024 with mostly black-owned suppliers, including those that are small, medium and micro, is R3.2 billion
Read more »
South Africa: Search Continues for Survivors of Building Collapse in South AfricaThe search continued Tuesday in South Africa for workers trapped in the collapse of a multi-story building under construction outside of Cape Town that left at least four people dead.
Read more »
South Africa: SABC Editor-in-Chief Called for Security Vetting and Polygraph Before South Africa ElectionThe Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday expressed alarm that South Africa's spy agency wants to subject Moshoeshoe Monare, the editor-in-chief of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), to additional security vetting and an invasive lie-detector test ahead of the country's crucial May 29 general election.
Read more »