ALLAN GRAY FEATURE – Rate hike improves South Africa’s attractiveness for investors
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GUEST – Thalia Petousis - Portfolio manager at Allan Gray
The South African money market is fast becoming a saver’s haven. The overnight repo rate of 7.75% as at end-March reached its highest level in almost 14 years. The extent to which the South African Reserve Bank will keep hiking interest rates will depend on how confident it is that consumer price inflation is moving closer to the 4.5% target. As the impact of loadshedding bleeds into an elevated cost of production and wreaks havoc on food retailers’ business operations, the rate at which food inflation is rising is cause for concern.
The South African money market is fast becoming a saver’s haven. The overnight repo rate of 7.75% as at end-March reached its highest level in almost 14 years. The extent to which the South African Reserve Bank will keep hiking interest rates will depend on how confident it is that consumer price inflation is moving closer to the 4.5% target. As the impact of loadshedding bleeds into an elevated cost of production and wreaks havoc on food retailers’ business operations, the rate at which food inflation is rising is cause for concern.
