Consumer inflation stabilises despite leap in fuel prices
Food inflation was 4.9%, with meat prices rising 14% while bread and cereal prices dropped 5%
Consumer inflation edged up as expected in December, as a hefty fuel price increase of 70c a litre took a chunk out of consumers’ wallets but was counterbalanced by lower inflation elsewhere, including food. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 4.7% in December 2017 compared with December 2016, Statistics SA said on Wednesday. That follows a 4.6% year-on-year increase in November. That meant inflation for all of last year averaged 5.3% — exactly in line with the Reserve Bank’s most recent estimate, and down significantly from 6.3% in 2016. Compared with November, CPI inflation was 0.5% in December — after a 0.1% increase in November from October. With inflation seemingly well under control — Investec’s Kamilla Kaplan says notes that it is expected to average 4.8% in 2018 — and an economy in desperate need of some impetus, all eyes are on whether the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates at its meeting in March. The Bank stayed its hand, as expected, at its January meeting, citing poli...
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