Robert Laing
Robert Laing
Higher interest rates are slowing South Africa's consumer lead economic growth, but probably not enough to save households from another 0,5 percent increase when the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee announces its verdict next week.
Yesterday, the Reserve Bank reported its "leading indicator" used to forecast the business cycle in about six months came in at 126,6 index points for September, continuing a steady decline from May's 129,1 points.
Today, the Reserve Bank will report the third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth. The poll of economists found the consensus forecast for this year's GDP growth to drop to 4,7percent from last year's 5 percent.