Kenyan Inflation Rate Rises for First Month in Five in January

Kenyan Inflation Rate Rises for First Month in Five in January

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan inflation accelerated for the first month in five in January as corn prices rose and crude costs increased. Consumer prices climbed 4.8 percent from a year earlier, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday in a statement emailed from the capital, Nairobi. Prices advanced 1.3 percent in the month. A government-imposed cap on commercial lending rates, a drought and two disputed elections have weighed on economic growth in…

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South Africa Core Inflation Rate Drops to Six-Year Low

South Africa Core Inflation Rate Drops to Six-Year Low

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s central bank may return to the interest rate-cutting cycle it started last year as core inflation slowed to the lowest in six years and headline price growth stayed close to the mid-point of the target range in December. The inflation rate rose to 4.7 percent from 4.6 percent the previous month, the Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said on its website Wednesday. That’s in line with the median of 20…

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Nigerian Rates Easing Still Some Way Off Even as Inflation Slows

Nigerian Rates Easing Still Some Way Off Even as Inflation Slows

LAGOS (capital Markets in Africa) – The slowdown in Nigeria inflation to a 20-month low may not be enough to prompt the central bank to start easing just yet. The inflation rate in Africa’s most-populous nation fell to 15.4 percent from 15.9 percent in November, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said in an emailed report Tuesday. The median estimate of seven economists in a Bloomberg survey was for the rate to remain unchanged. Prices rose 0.6 percent…

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Egypt Inflation Rate Drops as Currency Float Shock Eases

Egypt Inflation Rate Drops as Currency Float Shock Eases

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s monthly urban inflation rate fell for the first time in more than two years as the impact of lifting currency controls eased. The month-on-month inflation rate came in at minus 0.2 percent in December, its lowest rate since November 2015, while the annual inflation rate eased to 21.9 percent from 26 percent the previous month, according to the state-run statistics agency CAPMAS. Annual prices were affected by a slowing of…

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Nigerian Inflation Slows for Ninth Straight Month in October

Nigerian Inflation Slows for Ninth Straight Month in October

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian consumer inflation slowed marginally for a ninth consecutive month in October as food-price growth stayed above 20 percent. The inflation rate in Africa’s most-populous nation fell to 15.91 percent from 15.98 percent in September, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said in an e-mailed report on Tuesday. The median of 12 economists’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was 15.9 percent. Prices rose 0.8 percent in the month. On Nov….

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Kenyan Inflation Rate at 17-Month Low as Food-Cost Growth Slows

Kenyan Inflation Rate at 17-Month Low as Food-Cost Growth Slows

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan inflation slowed to a 17-month low in October as food-price growth decelerated and demand was hamstrung by political uncertainty. Consumer prices rose 5.7 percent from a year earlier, compared with 7.1 percent in September, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday in an emailed statement from the capital, Nairobi. Costs decreased 0.6 percent in the month. The economy of the world’s largest shipper of black tea has been hit…

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Bank of England Governor Mark Carney Confirms Rate Hike Is Near

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney Confirms Rate Hike Is Near

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mark Carney reaffirmed that the Bank of England is close to its first interest-rate increase in over a decade, as inflation hit 3 percent and one of his colleagues said the economy is approaching a “tipping point.” In a series of testimonies to lawmakers, the BOE governor and the two newest members of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee signalled that the erosion of economic slack is dominating their thinking as they prepare for…

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