JABULANI SIKHAKHANE: Prices tell a tale of socioeconomic and political changes
Inflation also reflects what’s happening to systems of production and the movement of goods
We often think of, or talk about, prices as a record of the cost of buying goods and services in an economy or as a measure of the increase or a decline in the buying power of money (inflation). But prices are far more than that. They tell a deeper story about the socioeconomic and political environment, or changes at a particular time.
This is true of the present, when the spurt in inflation (a measure of the changes in the prices of a basket of goods and services) has central banks in a short-term interest rate hiking frenzy globally. In SA’s case inflation hit a 13-year high of 7.4% in June, propelled by rising transport and food prices...
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