The FINANCIAL — South Africa’s annual inflation rate ticked up slightly in May, potentially supporting the central bank’s desire to push up its key interest rate, according to Nasdaq.
The annual inflation rate was 4.6% in May, South Africa’s statistical agency said on June 17, up slightly from an annual rate of 4.5% in April. Economists had expected the rate to stay at 4.5% in May.
The rise above that expectation isn’t significant but it could support the South African Reserve Bank’s stated goal to raise its key interest rate from four-decade lows. That plan has been interrupted by low inflation rates that have been driven down by low global fuel prices, and by South Africa’s weak economic growth. The finance ministry has warned growth this year may fall short of a 2% annual rate for the third consecutive year. That slow expansion has pushed unemployment up to an 11-year high of more than 26% of the formal workforce.
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