The South African economy is resilient. Consumer inflation has risen to 3.2% year-on-year in July from 2.2% in June, according to data received from Statistics South Africa on Wednesday.
The consumer price index on a month-on-month basis reached 1.3% in July from 0.5% from the previous month.
Core inflation, however increased to 3.2%in July from 3.0% in June. Meanwhile core inflation increased to 0.7% from 0.3% for July and June respectively month-on-month.
This could not sustain the Rand as it lost two days of stability. By 06.50% GMT, the Rand sold for 16.8550 to a dollar.
Local financial markets have shrugged off the latest bout of power cuts so far, but they highlight the obstacles to growth in Africa’s most industrialised economy.
Official forecasts are for a contraction of at least 7% this year, as a strict lockdown from late March piled pressure on local businesses and the coronavirus pandemic dented global demand for South African exports.
