A brief online search of South African economic data is a useful way to get a helicopter view of the present situation. One of the top results on my feed was the release of the Absa purchasing managers’ index data for May, which showed its fourth consecutive month of declines. The Reuters article I found noted that expected business conditions have reached their lowest level since early 2020, which means local managers see load-shedding as on a par with lockdowns.
The Reserve Bank is in a situation where it only has a hammer, so every problem looks like a nail. The inflation problem isn’t a nail, so higher interest rates aren’t going to do much about the costs of fuel and alternative energy sources, thanks to Eskom. ..
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