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Economists are warning South Africans to brace themselves for an even higher cost of living going forward. It’s expected that Statistics South Africa will announce a higher inflation rate on the back of increasing oil, fuel and food prices.
The Reserve Bank is also expected to announce another interest rate hike on Thursday.
Economist, Isaac Matshego says the repo rate is widely expected to increase by 25 basis points. He says fuel prices will hit record highs due to the Ukraine invasion by Russia.
“We expect the inflation rates to increase slightly to 5.9% from 5.7% and the main drivers will be high fuel prices and insurance. We are likely to get a petrol price increase of R2 a litre and diesel increasing by around R3 a litre. So those would keep inflation higher for longer and food price pressures are due to be affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. So inflation is likely to remain sticky around six percent over the next few months.”
Price Increases I Cost of living for ordinary households strained:
