SA record producer inflation likely to dent sentiment

South Africa’s producer inflation surged to a record high in April, beating analysts’ forecasts, which is likely to further sour manufacturing mood.

Prices of final manufactured goods rose by 13.1%, from 11.9% in March, according to data from Statistics South Africa. That’s the highest rate since the start of 2013, when the statistics office split its producer price index and started reporting five different measures for prices at the factory gate including agriculture, mining, electricity and water and intermediate manufactured goods. The median estimate of seven economists in a Bloomberg survey was 12%. The increase was driven by soaring costs of fuel, coal and food, beverages and tobacco.

The surge together with rolling blackouts instituted by state-owned power utility Eskom on all but three days this month will probably see Absa Group’s purchasing managers’ index, compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research, drop in May, after falling the most in nine months in April.