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South Africa’s producer inflation cooled more than forecast to a 13-month low in March, signalling price pressures along the value chain may be easing.
Prices of final manufactured goods rose by 10,6 percent from a year earlier, compared with 12,2 percent in February, the Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said in a statement on Wednesday.
The median estimate of six economists in a Bloomberg survey was 11,3 percent Prices of agriculture goods, mining and electricity and water also rose at a slower pace. The agriculture producer inflation rate fell 6.7 percentage points to 7,5 percent in March from a month earlier.
PPI, Stats SA, inflation, Producer Price Inflation
The easing of upward pressures along the value chain may start to filter into headline price growth that has surprised to the upside for two consecutive months, partly because of food inflation that is at a 14-year high, and according to the central bank is yet to peak.
The South African Reserve Bank has increased interest rates by 425 basis points since November 2021 to rein in inflation that has been above 4,5 percent — the midpoint of the target range at which its monetary policy committee prefers to anchor expectations — since May 2021. – Bloomberg
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