SA consumer inflation eases to 4%

Cape Town – South Africa’s headline consumer price inflation (CPI) eased to 4.0% in February, down from 4.4% in January 2018, according to official figures. 

On average, prices increased by 0.8% between January 2018 and February 2018, Statistics SA announced on Tuesday.

The SA Reserve Bank meanwhile also announced that the current account deficit has widened to 2.9% of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2017.

TreasuryONE said in a snap note on Tuesday morning that the inflation print leaves the door open for the SARB to cut interest rates at next week's Monetary Policy Meeting.

The rand traded steady at around R12 to the US dollar after the release of the data, as the international market remains the driver currently, said TreasuryONE dealer Wichard Cilliers.