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South Africa’s headline inflation rises to 4.8%

Published

1 year ago

September 20, 2023

South Africa’s headline inflation rose to 4.8% year-on-year in August from 4.7% in July but within the central bank’s goal range.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has planned to sustain inflation at about the middle of that goal range, which is between 3% and 6%.

The latest inflation figure has, however, drawn reactions from some experts. According to economist, Elize Kruger, one or two of the Monetary Policy Committee’s five members may support another rate increase, given that inflation stopped declining in August.

“This economy remains firmly in ‘muddle-along’ mode, unable to gain sustainable momentum and the monetary policy stance is already sufficiently restrictive for the current state of growth and inflation,” she added.

Jason Tuvey, another economist, expressed scepticism that the SARB would restart tightening policy after deciding to “hold” it in July after 10 straight rate increases.

“The rise in inflation was modest and, while the headline rate is likely to hover around 5% over the coming months, we think that officials will have taken some comfort from the dip in inflation expectations in Q2,” he said.

For the seventh consecutive month, annual food and NAB inflation fell, easing from 9,9% in July to 8,0% in August. All food and NAB categories saw reduced annual rates in August, with the exception of fruit.

In comparison to July’s reading of 13,1%, the yearly rate for bread and cereal was 9,9%. Many goods, including white bread, brown bread, maize flour, and cereals, were less expensive in August compared to July. But, the price increase of 3.4% month over month for rice put a damper on the otherwise cheery data.

The South African economy grew by 0.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, while data for the second quarter has not been released by official data sources. The country continues its recovery efforts after power outages associated with load shedding defined the better part of 2022, and continues to define this year to angry reactions and social unease.

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Food prices drive second straight monthly hike in Nigeria’s inflation

Published

1 day ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to official statistics released on Friday, Nigeria’s inflation rate increased for the second consecutive month in October, rising to 33.88% in annual terms from 32.70% in September, mostly as a result of increasing food costs.

In an attempt to boost economic development and strengthen public finances, President Bola Tinubu devalued the naira and reduced subsidies, which caused inflation to spike in the second half of last year.

As the effects of the naira devaluation started to lessen in July of this year, a slew of hikes in the price of petroleum and devastating floods that destroyed crops once again exacerbated pricing pressures, making the greatest cost-of-living crisis in decades worse in Africa’s most populous country.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, price increases for basics such as rice, maize, bread, potatoes, and cooking oil prompted food inflation to surge from 37.77% in October to 39.16% year over year.

This year, more than 1.5 million hectares of agriculture have been damaged by torrential rain and floods in 29 of Nigeria’s 36 states, leaving millions hungry and displacing large numbers of people.

In an effort to curb inflation, the central bank has raised interest rates five times this year. On November 26, it is expected to make its final rate decision of the year.

VenturesNow

MTN financial report reveals drop in group service revenue

Published

1 day ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Due to operational difficulties in Sudan and the depreciation of the Nigerian naira, MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecom provider, announced on Thursday an 18.5% decline in service revenue for the third quarter that concluded on September 30.

With 288 million users in 17 African regions, MTN said that its group service revenue dropped from 156.3 billion rand ($6.99 billion) in the same quarter of the previous year to 127.4 billion rand.

Despite stating that “the naira was less volatile on a sequential basis in Q3 than in preceding quarters,” the business reported a 48.7% decline in MTN Nigeria’s income due to the currency’s depreciation.

Due to a stronger Ugandan shilling than the previous year, Uganda’s largest contributor, MTN South Africa (MTN SA), expanded by a meagre 3.3%.

Due to “subscriber registration regulations in Nigeria and a decline in users in Sudan, where the conflict has displaced millions of people,” the business reported that its subscriber base increased by 1.6% to 288 million.

Given the higher demand in Nigeria despite the legal obstacles, MTN plans to increase its capital expenditures, which it expects would total between 28 and 33 billion rand for the entire year.