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/ 13 September 2007
South Africa’s solid economic fundamentals should help it weather current turmoil in global financial markets, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday. South Africa’s rand currency and stock markets have swung wildly over the past few weeks amid turmoil in financial markets in the face of a global credit crunch.
South Africa’s current account deficit narrowed to 7% of gross domestic product in the first quarter as lower oil imports offset a fall in mine exports to narrow the trade deficit, the central bank said on Thursday. The shortfall compared with a 7,8% deficit in the fourth quarter of 2006 and 5,7% in the third quarter.
South African retail-sales growth jumped to 10,1% year-on-year in March, official data showed on Wednesday, pointing to persistently high consumer spending and supporting the case for higher interest rates. A robust consumer appetite has been the main driver of faster growth in Africa’s biggest economy in recent years, but has added to inflationary pressures.
South Africa’s targeted inflation should remain within its range, but the target could be threatened by adverse developments and a poor response to past monetary tightening, the central bank said on Tuesday. In its latest monetary policy review, the Reserve Bank said it remained focused on keeping inflation within a 3% to 6% band.
Demand for credit by South Africa’s private sector should brake in March in a delayed reaction to last year’s interest-rate increases, easing pressure on the central bank to resume raising interest rates. The country’s trade deficit should, however, widen to R4,1-billion after narrowing to R2,7-billion in February.
South African private-sector credit demand accelerated in February, denting expectations that the central bank will not need to raise interest rates next month. Reserve Bank data showed on Friday that private-sector credit extension grew 26,12% year-on-year (y/y) in February, from 24,83% in January, clouding the interest-rate outlook in Africa’s economic powerhouse.
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/ 28 February 2007
South Africa on Wednesday unveiled a new policy to manage its swelling elephant population, including resuming a controversial cull of the animals if needed. Government experts have been pushing for a targeted slaughter of some of the country’s 20 000 elephants as well as a birth control programme to preserve land endangered by the voracious eaters.
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/ 14 February 2007
South Africa’s retail-sales growth braked to 7,2% year-on-year in December, official data showed on Wednesday, but the slowdown was seen unlikely to sway the central bank’s pending decision on interest rates. Sales growth eased from a downwardly revised 12% in November, leaving growth for 2006 at 9,7% at constant prices.
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/ 30 January 2007
Growth in demand for credit by South Africa’s private sector slowed in the year to the end of December, boosting the view that the central bank need not hike interest rates next month to curb inflation. Data from the South African Reserve Bank on Tuesday showed that private-sector credit extension braked to 25,81% in December, compared with 26,77% in November.
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/ 20 December 2006
South Africa’s main inflation gauges came in below forecasts on Wednesday, but the jury was still out on whether the central bank would hold off hiking interest rates further as it grapples with runaway consumer spending. Statistics South Africa said the targeted CPIX inflation rate rose by a lower-than-expected unchanged 5% in the year to November.