Hits&Misses

Interest rate hike unlikely, but Liberty shares fall after data hack

THE inflation rate fell in May as food prices rose at the slowest pace since 2013, reducing chances that the Reserve Bank will increase interest rates later this year. Consumer prices climbed 4.4% from a year earlier compared with 4.5% in April, Stats SA data showed. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey was for 4.6%.

CAPE Town’s city council scrapped plans to hire a desalination barge to supplement the city’s water supply after good winter rains have helped ease the worst drought on record.

SOUTH Africa should take some solace in a stable outlook, according to Konrad Reuss, S&P Global Ratings MD for Africa. Speaking at the Vision 2030 Summit at Emperors Palace, Reuss said: ”A stable outlook points out that the risks are not stacked on the downside unless things worsen.” Last month S&P affirmed South Africa’s credit rating at junk status with a stable outlook. LIBERTY’S shares tumbled 4% on Monday as the insurer divulged little new detail of a data breach unlikely to result in a fine, even if the company has fallen foul of information protection laws. The breach is the latest blow for Liberty, whose earnings have gone backwards for the past two financial years.

THE current account deficit swelled to the biggest in two years in the first quarter as a strong rand weighed on export income. The shortfall on the current account widened to 4.8% of GDP compared with a 2.9% gap in the three months through December, the Reserve Bank said in its quarterly bulletin.

SOME Uber drivers went on strike as the cost of running cars increases with higher fuel prices. Drivers at the ride-hailing service are unhappy about the 25% service fee charged by Uber per ride, especially after the government hiked fuel prices for the third time this year.