South Africa’s annual PPI inflation accelerates more than expected in May

By bne IntelliNews June 25, 2015

South Africa's annual headline producer price inflation accelerated more than expected, hitting a five-month high of 3.6% in May, up from 3.0% in April, data released by Statistics South Africa showed. Consensus expectations were for a PPI inflation of 3.3% last month, according to a Business Day survey of eight economists.

Compared to the previous month, factory prices rose 0.8% in May, easing from a 0.9% growth in April.

The main contributor to the annual headline producer inflation last month again was the heavyweight group of foods, beverages and tobacco products with a 6.4% y/y growth and a 2.2pp contribution to the PPI, (+5.4% y/y, 1.8pp contribution in April).

At the same time, deflation in the group of coke, petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products, softened to 6.0% y/y from 7.5% y/y in April. The group contributed -1.3pp to the overall price development versus -1.6pp in April.

Producer prices are a key preliminary indicator for the dynamics in consumer price inflation, which edged up to 4.6% y/y in May from 4.5% in April.

As of January 2013, Statistics South Africa releases five separate industry-specific PPIs, with final manufactured goods representing the headline number. The other four PPIs cover agriculture, forestry and fishing; mining and quarrying; electricity and water; and intermediate manufactured goods (see the table below).

Producer price inflation May-15 Apr-15 May-15 Apr-15
  y/y y/y m/m m/m
Final manufactured goods  3.6% 3.0% 0.8% 0.9%
Intermediate manufactured goods -0.4% -0.2% 0.3% -0.7%
Electricity and water  9.9% 10.4% 0.9% 4.7%
Mining -3.8% -4.7% 0.7% -1.0%
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 3.1% 4.5% -2.3% 1.7%
Source: Statistics South Africa        
Read in IntelliNews Pro
Get IntelliNews Pro

Related Articles

Johannesburg Stock Exchange eases listing requirements to encourage small caps to stay

South Africa's main bourse, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), has amended some listing requirements to make it easier for smaller firms to raise capital and meet compliance costs. The ... more

Equatorial Guinea awards Petrofac $350mn five-year contract centred on Zafiro oilfield

Petrofac has been awarded a $350mn technical services contract by Equatorial Guinea's state oil company to support its operations in offshore Block B when it takes over the asset from ExxonMobil (US) ... more

Namibian community rejects green hydrogen port expansion project serving Germany’s Hyphen

Leaders of Namibia's Nama ethnic group have rejected a proposal by national port authority Namport to expand a facility on Shark Island – a heritage site sacred to the community – to facilitate ... more

Follow Us On

Most Read

  1. Iran vs Israel: Who is better equipped for war?
    6 days ago
  2. Saudi Arabia to scale back plans for Neom city
    10 days ago
  3. Oil continues to flow to Israel via Turkey despite Erdogan’s vehement speeches on plight of Gaza
    5 months ago
  4. BREAKING: Iraq, Syria and Jordan close airspace amid Iranian strike on Israel
    6 days ago
  5. Russia’s war economy boosted by rising oil prices
    4 days ago
  1. Russia could pay off its entire external debt tomorrow, in cash
    20 days ago
  2. Speculation swirls of “Men in Blue” in Crocus City Hall terrorist attack linked to FSB
    25 days ago
  3. Albanians campaign on social media to keep bus bridge created in freak accident
    1 year ago
  4. UBN: Russia could take the Baltic states in 48 hours
    30 days ago
  5. BRICS announce a blockchain-based payment system to create a common currency
    23 days ago

Reports

Dismiss