There’s good news and bad news from South Africa’s latest economic growth and inflation statistics.
Consumer inflation is slowing, despite a slight rise to 4.8% in August from 4.7% in July. And food price inflation declined for a fifth successive month, softening from 9.9% in July to 8% in August, StatsSA reported.
Bread and cereals were cheaper in August and the annual rate for meat inflation dropped to 3.6% in August from 5.1% in July.
“Prices for most beef and chicken products declined between July and August, with the exception of chicken giblets and beef extract,” StatsSA said.
The bad news comes in the country’s economic growth prospects.
The Daily Investor said there were “tough times ahead”. It quoted Citadel chief economist Maarten Ackerman warning of a challenging economic period as economic growth continues to be muted.
Ackerman’s comments came in light of Stats SA’s latest data which showed that the South African economy had grown by 0.6% in Q2 2023. While this was higher than expected, Ackerman predicted that in the next 12 to 18 months, South Africa might see growth coming down and settling at about 1.5% or 1.6% for 2023.
“Things will most likely get tougher for consumers, as the world faces further economic stress, load-shedding continues, and the job market takes further strain.
“Overall, South Africa’s economic growth looks slightly better than expected. However, due to the structural issues we face as a country, we have not achieved the sustainable numbers required for job creation,” Ackerman said.
