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/ 29 May 2008

Rising food prices threaten the poor

South Africa has experienced the highest rate of food-price inflation since January 2003, the National Agricultural Marketing Council said in its quarterly food price monitor on Thursday. From April 2007 to April 2008 the increase in the Consumer Food Price, as reported by Stats SA, was 15,7%.

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/ 29 April 2008

DA wants answers on PPI overhaul

Statistics South Africa should appear before the finance portfolio committee to explain alleged unreliability in the Producer Price Index (PPI), said the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday. ”Reliable official data is essential to policy-making,” said DA finance spokesperson Kobus Marais.

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/ 26 March 2008

Mining counters give JSE momentum

Mining counters gave the JSE some extra momentum on Wednesday, pushing the bourse more than a percent higher by midday. At noon, the JSE’s broader all-share index was 1,29% in the black, driven by a 5,45% rally in the platinum-mining index. Resources advanced 2,47% and the gold-mining index rose 1,07%.

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/ 28 February 2008

Tourist arrivals up 3% in December

The total number of travellers who visited South Africa through all its ports of entry during December was up 3% year-on-year (y/y) to 2,757-million, from the 5,7% y/y growth recorded in November 2007, according to Statistics South Africa data released on Thursday.

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/ 26 February 2008

South Africa records strong growth for 2007

South Africa’s economic growth jumped unexpectedly in the fourth quarter of 2007, keeping expansion for the year near a two-decade record at 5,1% as buoyant corporates outweighed slower consumer spending. Africa’s biggest economy has remained resilient despite higher interest rates, although growth is likely to slow in 2008.

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/ 18 February 2008

Power is a priority in Gauteng

Saving electricity and promoting energy efficiency must be a top priority in 2008, Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa said in his State of the Province address on Monday. "The future was rosy on December 31 2007, but suddenly everyone is buying candles and researching property in Perth," Shilowa said in Johannesburg. He also discussed transport improvements planned for 2008.

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/ 13 February 2008

December retail sales shrink by 0,5%

South African retail sales fell by 0,5% year-on-year in December at constant prices, compared with a revised decline of 0,2% in November, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday. In the three months to the end of December, retail sales increased by 0,3% compared to the same period the previous year.

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/ 13 February 2008

Power cuts take toll on mines, factories

Manufacturing slowed in December and mining output also fell, official data showed, fanning concern the economy’s two main power consumers will suffer from electricity constraints this year. At the same time, the Bureau for Economic Research warned that power shortages may trim the pace of economic growth to 3,4% this year.