In lieu of the ongoing recession, South Africa’s central bank on Thursday has reportedly raised its benchmark interest rate which saw it going up by a hefty 0.75 percentage points again as it battles to control the inflation in the country.
The move is also coming on the heels of some new rate hikes which had been instigated by the United States Federal Reserve and some of the other central banks in Europe this week as countries scramble to tame galloping consumer prices.
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The South African central bank’s decision would also be mirroring a similar 0.75-point hike in July that was the highest in a decade, brings the rate to 6.25 percent, close to its pre-Covid pandemic level.
“Economic and financial conditions are expected to remain more volatile for the foreseeable future,” central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said.
The bank has now raised its rate five straight times.
Inflation slowed slightly to 7.6 percent in August after hitting a 13-year record high of 7.8 percent a month earlier and it had been reported that inflation began to rise worldwide as countries emerged from Covid pandemic lockdowns and it shot higher after Russia’s war in Ukraine sent global energy and food prices soaring.
The South African central bank forecast the country’s economy would grow by 1.9 percent this year, lower than its previous forecast of two percent.
In a similar report, following the increase in the sale pump price of petroleum products in the Country and some other essential cosumables due to inflation, some of the federal and state Civil Servants have appealed to both Governments to work on the increment of workers’ salaries to reduce their hardships in the Country.
The workers, who had cried out in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, in separate interviews on Friday in Katsina, said the appeal was necessary because prices of goods and transportation had also skyrocketed
