Fin24 reports that that Statistics SA announced on Wednesday that annual consumer price inflation had come in at 5.1% for October, 0.2 percentage points higher than the 4.9% for September.  

On average, prices increased by 0.5% between September 2018 and October 2018.  The figure was in line with the expectations of analysts, with food prices edging lower while the impact of higher global oil prices was subdued.  TreasuryOne, in a note to clients following the announcement, said the inflation figure meant there was a possibility of an interest rate hike on Thursday, as "inflation is creeping towards the upper end of the inflation band".  The SA Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee will be announcing its repo rate decision on Thursday.

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