Inflation in newspapers

Daily Insider: Inflation picking up – but for a change SA compares favourably

Economists were apparently surprised yesterday to hear South Africa's official inflation rate rose to 7.4% in June, up from May's 6.5%.

Published on:

21 Jul 2022, 11:29 am

START YOUR MORNING BY LISTENING TO TODAY'S BIZNEWS BREAKFAST BRIEFING – Tesla beats expectations, sells Bitcoin; Tech stocks keep rolling; Why Cele must go; Solidarity Fund cash only paid to black businesses

Catch up with the latest on BizNews.com

NB: If you're getting this newsletter second hand – click here to subscribe for your own copy. It's free and takes less than a minute.

Inflation picking up – but for a change, SA compares favourably

Economists were apparently surprised yesterday to hear South Africa's official inflation rate rose to 7.4% in June, up from May's 6.5%. They expected less. Maybe the practitioners of the dismal science had forgotten about rising petrol prices and the falling Rand.

But there is some solace. For a change, South Africa's consumer price index is lagging those of its major trading partners in the West. Yesterday the UK released a 9.4% inflation rate for June, the highest in 40 years. The media is describing it as "a generational cost of living crisis".

There is similar panic in the USA where inflation is now at its highest level since November 1981. June's CPI figure of 9.1% was up from May's 8.6%, driven mainly by fuel prices that have jumped 60% in the past year. The US is bracing for a series of further interest rate increases.

On the upside, while millions of Americans and Brits are in a panic over inflation, seeing prices – and interest rates – on the rise is just not that big a deal for South Africans. We've long ago come to appreciate the only constant is change.

data-title=" WATCH: From the deadly destruction of the July riots to South Africa's horrendous crime statistics, including a recent spate of mass shootings, the criminal justice system is failing. In this broad-ranging interview with Dr Jakkie Cilliers, chairperson of the board at the Institute for Security Studies, he tells BizNews that reactionary "gesture policing" is proving futile. What is needed is a professional police service with a police minister who doesn't confuse his role with that of a national police commissioner. Additionally, South Africa needs a functioning crime intelligence division and state security agency free from the politicisation that has characterised it for too long."

UPCOMING EVENTS – SIGN UP NOW

BizNews Conference – August 30 to Sept 3

The last four rooms at Champagne Sports Resort have been snapped up but there are still rooms available at nearby Champagne Castle, a high quality hotel even deeper into the Drakensberg. This hotel has kindly arranged a special B&B rate for BizNews community members attending BNC#4. It's only 10 minutes away and works perfectly with the Day Pass option, hence our endorsement. Click here for all the details and to register your interest.

To receive the Daily Insider every weekday at 6am in your inbox click here. You can also sign up to the weekend's BizNews Digest for a wrap of the best content BizNews has to offer, for a leisurely Saturday read.

Interest rates