Morning Brief – Thursday, 24 November 2022

Good morning. Here’s what you need to know today:

• SA Reserve Bank likely to hike interest rate by 75 bps. 
• The latest inflation figures show that onions, salad dressing and air travel got more expensive. 
• Zweli Mkhize criticises court’s decision to send Jacob Zuma back to prison. 

Reserve Bank expected to hold the line on aggressive rate hikes – Business Tech

The SA Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee meeting will conclude today with a Bloomberg survey predicting that the five-person committee will continue with its aggressive interest rate hikes. The medium of 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, expects the central bank to hike by 75 basis points with estimates ranging between 50 and 100 basis points. The rate hike will be the seventh increase since the SARB started increasing the interest rate in November 2021. Read more here.

SA consumer inflation accelerates in October – air travel, onions and salad dressing lead the way – Daily Maverick

After slowing for two consecutive months, it was a shock on Wednesday when inflation printed at 7.6% for October having been at 7.5% the previous month. While fuel prices remain high, they have eased for a third straight month but with rand volatility, they remain a strain on household budgets. Onions and salad dressing increased significantly while if you’ve tried to fly between Cape Town and Johannesburg recently, you’ll know that air ticket prices have been sky-high. Read more here.

Zweli Mkhize decries Jacob Zuma’s ‘painful’ return to prison – News24

ANC presidential hopeful, Zweli Mkhize, has criticised the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling that former president Jacob Zuma’s medical parole from a 15-month jail sentence was unlawful and that he should return to prison. Mkhize, hoping to secure the backing of the ANC faction that has supported Zuma in the past at the party’s elective conference next month, said that the former ANC leader was “too old” to return to prison. Read more here.