Star SW-2021-03-25

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE COUNTRY’S inflation decelerated in February, confirming an all-but accepted consensus on the market that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will keep interest rates on hold for the foreseeable future as the print fell below bank’s mid-tier range of between 3 and 6 percent. Data from Statistics SA (StatsSA) yesterday showed that the annual headline inflation rate slowed to 2.9 percent in February from 3.2 percent in January – the lowest reading since June last year, when the rate was 2.2 percent amid a slowdown in prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages. StatsSA said that several medical insurance providers did not implement annual price increases this year as a significant change in health-care consumption patterns last year resulted in an increase in their cash reserves.…

THE FNB/BER Civil Confidence Index gained five points to register a level of 21 points in the first three months of this year, the third consecutive increase in the quarterly index. However, although better, the index level meant close to 80 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with prevailing business conditions, FNB senior economist Siphamandla Mkhwanazi said yesterday. Sentiment received a boost from higher activity. According to Statistics South Africa, the real value of construction works contracted by 17.6 percent year-on-year in the last three months of 2020, after declining by 22.1 percent in the third quarter of that year. Despite the uptick in activity, profitability deteriorated, and the pipeline for new work remains thin, Mkhwanazi said. “Despite some anecdotal evidence to the contrary, too many civil contractors are…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za THE INDUSTRIAL, retail and office property markets continued to improve in the first three months of this year, but are not yet at pre-lockdown levels. FNB’s latest Property Broker Survey of buying and selling activity yesterday showed that recent economic numbers suggested there would be little further recovery early this year. FNB Commercial Property Finance strategist John Loos said month-on-month growth in the OECD’s version of the Leading Business Cycle Indicator for South Africa slowed consistently from a June 2020 high of 2.9 percent to only 0.06 percent in January, suggesting slowing economic growth acceleration to come. Also, the large manufacturing sector’s year-on-year growth was negative in January (-3.4 percent) after its first positive growth rate since early 2019, in December last year. Real…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@in.co.za THE RAND firmed against the dollar yesterday, gaining 0.11 percent to R14.86 after latest data showed consumer inflation rate slowed to an eight-month low in February. Inflation fell to 2.9 percent from 3.2 percent in January, dipping below the central bank's target range of 3 to 6 percent just a day before the SA Reserve Bank’s monetary policy decision. The central bank’s monetary policy meeting is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 3.5 percent after cutting rates aggressively last year to shore up the economy. The prime lending rate has been at a level of 7 percent since July last year following a cumulative 300 basis points reduction in support of the pandemic-hit economy. Analysts last week indicated expectations…

STANDARD Bank Group said yesterday that it had been named the Best Bank in Africa in Global Finance’s 28th annual awards for the World’s Best Banks. Also, Standard Bank South Africa and Stanbic Bank Uganda were named best banks in their respective markets. The awards come at a time when the banking industry has played a supportive role in assisting clients and societies through the Covid-19 crisis. The winners of this year’s awards were banks that attended carefully to their customers’ needs in difficult markets and accomplished strong results while laying the foundations for future success, according to Global Finance, which has a circulation of 50 000 and readers in 189 countries. “Banks are playing a key role in economic recovery around the world. Our Best Bank awards highlight…

The BRICS Manufacturing Conference, which kicks off in Sandton tomorrow, will give local manufacturers the opportunity to reflect on how they can grow using new technologies. Organised by the BRICS Manufacturing Working Group (MWG), the conference, which takes place at the IDC Conference Centre, aims to help local manufacturers to leverage off South Africa’s membership of BRICS by taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the grouping, a statement said yester- day. The MWG facilitates trade and invest- ment in manufacturing between South Africa and its fellow member countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – and encourages co-operation on projects where there is potential for collaboration or complementarity. BRICS MWG chair- person Kaizer Nyatsumba said while access to markets is critical for growth, the manufacturing industry needed to…