It not make much of a difference but nonetheless the fuel prices will not go up on Wednesday by as much as was initially said. The retail price of petrol will now increase by between 69c to 75c a litre on July 2, and not between 75c to 81c as previously announced. The decision not to increase the prices as initially gazetted is because the Minerals and Energy department has not decided to add the 5.4 cent wholesale price to the fuel price increase. The cancellation comes after a huge outcry from different quarters. Read the rest of this entry »

Here we go again! As expected, the price of fuel will be going up again next week Wednesday in South Africa. The retail price of petrol will increase by between 75 to 81 cents a litre on Wednesday next week from last month’s 50 cent increase, according to a statement from the department of minerals and energy on Friday. This comes of the back of a 55 cent a litre increase the month before, raising further inflation concerns with inflation already standing at 10.9%.

The price of unleaded petrol in Gauteng increases to R10.70 a litre and to R10.50 at the coast. Diesel 0.05% sulphur goes up by 68.4 cents, 0.005% by 68.4 cents and wholesale paraffin by 54.4 cents. Illuminating paraffin shoots up by 73 cents. Diesel in Gauteng now costs R11.49 a litre and R11.35 at the coast.

South Africa’s Producer Price Index (PPI) rose to 16.4% year-on-year in May from 12.4% in April, Statistics SA said today. The rise comes as a major shock to many. Most analysts were expecting the figure to come in at 12.4%. Statistics South Africa attributes a surge in the factory gate prices to changes to a new weighting structure, which includes iron ore and steel. After excluding these components, the PPI number came at 12.2%.

The double-digit rise in the steel price announced in May - which was approximately 18% across a range of steel products - by a leading steel producer was key to the larger-than-expected increase in the PPI in May. Rising world steel prices also did not help the situation. Basic iron and steel accounts for around 4.12% of the total index.

This surge in PPI adds pressure to the central bank as they are now more than likely to push interest rates up again. Analysts predict another 50 basis point hike in August.

We may be in for another interest rate hike in South Africa as statistics released today showed that the CPIX has gone up to 10.9% year-on-year in the month of May from 10.4% in April. This does not bode well for the consumers in South Africa who are already suffering from high interest rates, soring food and energy prices. The central bank has often used the rate of inflation to determine interest rates and now that inflation continues to edge further and further away from their target of 3 - 6%, they may be forced to hike interest rates again. Read the rest of this entry »

I attended a presentation in Cape Town this weekend, hosted by Nexus Business, where a team of sales personnel from Neotel were showcasing their companies products and offerings to the South Africa market. I must say I was highly impressed with what Neotel have to offer the market and what stood out the most was the price of the products and services Neotel has to offer. Telkom and the other mobile phone operators are in for a tough time. Gone are the days we are going to be paying a fortune for telecom costs in South Africa. Read the rest of this entry »

The opposition party leader in Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai, of the MDC, pulled out of the presidential runoff vote which was set to take place on Friday this week. He pulled out because he saw there was no way he could win under the current crisis being faced in Zimbabwe and, the longer he tried to campaign to win, the more lives were going to be lost. Now that Tsvangirai has pulled out of the race, many people are now asking, “What next?” It is really anyones guess right now, anything can happen within the next few days and weeks, but one thing for sure that will certainly happen soon is the collapse of the Zimbabwe economy. Read the rest of this entry »

Today, Eskom got the go ahead too increase electricity tariffs by an additional 13.3%, this on top of the 14.2% increase they were granted in December last year. Eskom had hoped to get an increase between 53% and 60% but that was very unlikely to happen given the high inflation rate currently being experienced in South Africa. But this 13.3% increase is still going to be felt by consumers across the country as prices of food and power will also go up due to the increase in electricity tariffs. Read the rest of this entry »