Inflation & Prices

South Africa Inflation Surprise Raises Prospects of Rate Cut

  • Consumer prices rose 3% in Dec., versus 2.9% in prior month
  • Median estimate in a Bloomberg poll was for a 3.2% advance

South Africa’s consumer prices rose 3% from a year earlier.

Photographer: Leon Sadiki/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

South African inflation quickened at a slower pace than expected in December, providing room for policymakers to cut interest rates later this month.

Consumer prices rose 3% from a year earlier, compared with 2.9% in the prior month, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday in a statement on its website. That was less than the 3.2% median of 15 economists’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey.