Consumer inflation ticked up slightly as expected in November, remaining firmly outside the Reserve Bank’s 3%-6% target range. The consumer price index (CPI) increased 6.6% in November compared with a year earlier, Statistics SA said on Wednesday, from October’s 6.4%. Trading Economic had forecast a 6.5% increase, and the Bloomberg consensus was for a 6.6% rise. The Reserve Bank’s outlook for CPI inflation is that it will average 6.4% in 2016, coming back within the 3%-6% target range in 2017 when it is seen slowing to 5.8%, and easing further to 5.5% in 2018. Fast-rising food prices as a result of a long and severe drought have been one of the main drivers of consumer inflation, and food inflation was barely changed at 11.6% year on year in November. Announcing the decision to keep interest rates unchanged in November, Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said the risk for inflation was slightly higher than in September, with food inflation again driving both producer and consume...
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