Pretoria - Spending growth in South Africa quickened to 4.7%
in the second quarter from 4.3% in the first quarter as growth in fixed capital
formation increased and government spent more on wages, the central bank said
on Tuesday.
Households continued to tighten purse strings with spending
growth registering the lowest rate of increase in two years.
In its September Quarterly Bulletin, the South African
Reserve Bank said growth in household spending slowed to 2.9% in the second
quarter, from 3.1% in the previous quarter.
The bank said persistent increases in prices of
non-discretionary items such as transport and electricity likely eroded
consumer purchasing power.
Household debt increased faster than disposable income, widening the ratio of household debt to income by nearly one percentage point. The bank revised up the first quarter debt-to-disposable income to 75.6% from the 74.7% previously reported.