South Africa’s annual headline inflation rate stood at 5.9% in April 2013, at the same level as in March, just below the upper end of the central bank’s 3%-6% target range, Statistics South Africa said. Compared month-on-month, consumer prices rose 0.4% in April, slower than the 1.2% growth in March.
The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages grew 0.5% m/m last month, pushing the annual food inflation rate up to 6.2% from 5.7% in the previous month. Higher petrol prices led to a 0.5% monthly growth in transport prices, but the annual transport inflation rate fell to 6.2% last month from 7.5% in March.
According to analysts, the key driver for inflation was the weakness of the local currency, while demand has remained subdued. It is widely expected that the South African Reserve Bank would keep interest rates on hold at 5% at its Thursday (May 23) meeting in order to keep a balance between upside risks to inflation and a sluggish economy.
The central bank has projected headline inflation to rise to 6.3% in Q3, but to slow to 5.2% in Q4.
Related Articles
Nigeria seizes record 1-tonne cocaine shipment worth $15mn at Lagos’ Tin Can Port
Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1,000kg (1 tonne) of cocaine concealed inside a shipping container at Tin Can Island Port in Lagos, in what officials ... more
Ethiopia arrests 112 people, freezes 519 bank accounts in forex crackdown
Ethiopian authorities say they have arrested 112 people and suspended 519 bank accounts as part of a nationwide crackdown on what they describe as illegal foreign currency trading and unlicensed ... more
South Sudan’s president reverses petroleum ministry reshuffle amid heightened export security risks
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has dismissed the undersecretary at the Ministry of Petroleum, Chol Thon Abel, just one week after appointing him, and reinstated Deng Lual Wol to the position, ... more