Global inflation accelerated through the second half of 2021, and by 2022, inflation in many advanced economies spiked to multi-decade highs and central banks scrambled to bring down inflation. South Africa was no exception to this trend and saw inflation accelerate to multi-year highs through 2022. However, unlike the historic experience, South Africa’s inflation remained below some of the advanced economies. This note unpacks some of the reasons behind the recent surge in global inflation and highlights why South Africa diverged from the historical trend.
Read MoreA historical overview of inflation outcomes in SA suggests that inflation targeting has served SA well as the major anchor of monetary policy, with targeted inflation trending lower over the past 20 years. This BER note reflects on the past two decades of inflation targeting in SA and how the SARB established credibility that resulted in better anchored inflation expectations.
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