January 2024 Update

Making The News

South African equities have trailed Emerging Market returns in 2024 (FTSE/JSE Capped SWIX Index -2.9% MoM). Off the back of weak commodity prices, mining shares were among the biggest culprits for January’s underperformance. Locally, the December inflation print fell to 5.1% yoy, narrowly beating market expectations of a 5.2% print. During the latest meeting, the SARB Governor commented that interest rates are unlikely to change from the current 8.25% position until it is certain that inflation will fall to the midpoint of the SARBs target range (4.5%).  Fortunately, the recent release of SA inflation data leading up to the SARB’s latest meeting revealed that core inflation has remained steady, settling at the SARB’s desired midpoint within the target range.