1. SA Economic Indicators
Report updated:
May 2016
Next update:
June 2016
SA Economic Indicators

2. SA Economic Indicators
What is the SA Economic Indicators report?
Ti’s SA Economic Indicators report is a clear and easy-to-read view of the most currently available data for South Africa’s key economic indicators. Produced on a monthly basis by Ti Research, it draws on official information from various public and private institutions. The report is released in the first week of each new month, reporting on the available data up to and including the last day of the previous month.
How to read this report
Depending on the indicator itself, data is released by the various institutions on a daily, monthly or quarterly basis. The frequency and release date has been indicated at the foot of each slide, next to the data source. These dates are indicative however, since the institutions may publish the data with a delay.
Data lag: Data availability varies according to the data source, at times with a lag of a couple of months.
e.g. Retail Trade Sales for July 2015 were released with a two-month lag in September 2015
GDP figures for Q2/2015 were released two months after Q2 (i.e. in August 2015)
Readers are reminded to bear this data lag in mind when looking for parallels between indicators. It might therefore be necessary to go back to previous months’ reports in order to correctly analyse indicators over the same reporting periods.

3. SA Economic Indicators
Prime Interest Rate
Drop after 20 months at previous level of 9%
Rate is hiked for the first time in six years
SOURCE: South African Reserve Bank | Frequency: Bimonthly | Release date: 3rd or 4th Thursday of every second month

4. SA Economic Indicators
Interest Rates
COMMENTARY
The Bank Lending Rate in South Africa increased 50 basis points to 10.5%, following the latest Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting
Repo rate 7.0%
Prime 10.5%
This brought the prime rate up to a six-year high – highest since August 2009
The increase was attributed to the inflationary pressure due to the lagged effect of the severe drought on food prices, a weakening rand, weakening domestic growth outlook and the prospect of rising interest rates in the United States
The MPC listed the following as concerns leading to their action against heightened risk and pressure:
US monetary policy tightening, affecting the rand
Deteriorating prognosis for emerging markets
Low consumer and business confidence
Weak economy
Deflationary rand
Economists believe that the inflationary outlook continues to remain upward, despite positives from the lower spot oil prices
Worsening drought and impact on food prices – surge in agricultural commodity prices
The MPC emphasised that it was juggling the maintenance of price stability without impairing short-term growth
The MPC is of the view that the growth constraints facing the economy are primarily of a structural nature and cannot be solved solely by monetary policy

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6. Maryla Masojada | Head Analyst Tarryn Butler | Senior Retail Analyst