BL Premium reports that headline inflation accelerated to the top end of the SA Reserve Bank’s (SARB’s) 3%-6% target range in October, reinforcing the view that the Bank could maintain its tighter policy stance for longer before adjusting it lower to relieve pressure on indebted consumers and businesses.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 5.9% year-on-year in October, the highest since May, Stats SA reported on Wednesday. On a month-on-month basis, headline CPI rose 0.9% in October. Food and fuel prices were mainly responsible for the acceleration in consumer prices. However, core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy to better reflect underlying inflation trends, eased slightly to 4.4% from 4.5%. Stanlib chief economist Kevin Lings commented that while there remained some upside risks to inflation, including higher fuel and electricity prices, they appeared likely to be contained given already high interest rates, and sluggish economic activity that made it more difficult for companies to pass-on a range of price-pressures. At its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Thursday, the SARB is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged for the third meeting running.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Andries Mahlangu at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
• Read too, SA inflation hits five-month high before interest rate decision, at Moneyweb

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page