March Producer Pride Index seen at 7.9%
FMCG SUPPLIER NEWS
Business Live - Apr 23rd 2012, 14:29
SA's producer price index is expected to clock in at 7.9% year on year in March from 8.3% in February
Forecasts among 11 leading economists surveyed by I-Net Bridge ranged from 6.5% y/y to 8.4%.
Standard Bank research expected a 7.8% print in March, supported by a stronger rand and a moderation in food prices, said strategist at the bank, Thabi Leoka.
She said the rand strengthened in March, averaging around 7.6 against the dollar.
Commodity prices had also come down, she said, and that some soft commodities including corn had been on the decline.
"A softer March PPI and a further moderating CPI print should give the SA Reserve Bank enough comfort to leave interest rates at 5.5% this year," Leoka said.
Factors such as food prices which feed through into the agricultural prices of food and the cost of live animals and animal products; and the impact of oil price changes; and the sharp increases in the cost of metal ores, are still relevant and need to be taken into cognisance for their implications on PPI in the forthcoming months, say Econometrix economists.
If the decline in agricultural food inflation continues, it has the ability to knock a few points off the PPI, they said.
"In contrast with a heavy weighting of 4.98% within the overall PPI, an increase in oil price inflation risk may pose a negative threat to PPI," said Econometrix economists.
They noted that the appreciation of the rand dollar exchange rate from February to March might provide some relief to oil price inflation.
The March data is due to be released by Statistics SA at 11:30 on Thursday, April 26.
Related News
Global factors weakening the rand
13/06/2013 - 08:27
Johannesburg - Global factors are the main contributors to the current volatility of the rand, analysts said on Wednesday.
Eurozone slump eases in May
24/05/2013 - 11:18
London - The downturn across eurozone businesses eased slightly this month, although a dearth of new orders means the bloc's economy is likely to contract again in the second quarter, business surveys showed on Thursday.
Pioneer Foods expects slower spending
21/05/2013 - 07:49
Pioneer Foods Ltd. said it expects slower spending to curb its full-year performance.
SA's credit rating under pressure
20/05/2013 - 10:07
The rand weakened as foreigners sold off R400 million in equities and R799m in bonds last week, driving the rand from R9.15 to the dollar at the start of the week to almost R9.40 on Friday. International markets are very sensitive to any labour disruptions in the mining industry given the tragedy at Marikana last year.
South Africa, least favoured emerging market - poll
16/05/2013 - 09:50
Johannesburg – For the third consecutive month in May‚ South Africa continued to be the least-favoured major emerging market according to fund managers polled by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
