South African inflation rate rises slower than expected in December
2025.01.22 04:25
Investing.com — The pace of inflation in South Africa picked up in December, but not as rapidly as anticipated, according to data released by Statistics South Africa. This slower increase may allow policymakers to reduce interest rates in the coming weeks.
Consumer prices in South Africa increased by 3% from the previous year, compared to a 2.9% increase in the month before. This information was released in a statement on the website of Statistics South Africa, based in Pretoria, on Wednesday. This rise was less than the 3.2% median prediction from a survey of 15 economists conducted by Bloomberg.
This inflation data was released one week before a meeting of South African monetary policymakers, who will discuss the current position on interest rates. The meeting comes amid concerns about the potential for global inflation.
Lesetja Kganyago, the Reserve Bank Governor, expressed concerns earlier this week that policies being implemented by US President Donald Trump could potentially cause inflation and disrupt future policy easing.
Kganyago warned that if these measures lead to inflation, it could slow down the disinflation process that central banks have been diligently working on since the significant inflation of 2022. He also stated that there is a risk that the reduction in the restrictiveness of monetary policy, which has been observed over the past year, could come to an abrupt halt.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.
