Today Thursday (August 25), the Asian plate. The US dollar, the South African rand, was quoted at 16.8825, down 0.27%. Inflation in South Africa rose to its highest level in 13 years in July, official data showed. On August 24, local time, the National Bureau of Statistics of South Africa said that the country’s consumer price index in July was 7.8%, up from 7.4% in June.
Rising inflation prompted the country’s central bank to sharply raise its benchmark interest rate last month, raising it by 75 basis points to 5.5 percent. Two of South Africa’s largest unions have called on the government to act quickly to combat rising poverty and rising living costs. Meanwhile, the country’s unemployment rate hovers around 34%.
Transportation, food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing and utilities continue to be the main upward pressure on APRs. The effects of bread and grains, oils and fats, fuel and electricity are significant. Food and non-alcoholic beverages grew at an annual rate of 9.7% in July, up from 8.6% in June. Among them, the price of bread and cereals rose 13.7%, higher than 11.2% in June. That means a loaf of white bread now costs 17.84 rand ($1.05), compared with 15.57 rand ($0.91) a year ago, the ONS said. Fuel prices rose 56.2% from a year earlier.
Reminder: The Fed is expected to slow down the pace of interest rate hikes, and whether the dollar can maintain its upward trend will wait for Powell’s speech. The European energy crisis continues to weigh on the euro.