Monthly Market Highlights – May 2024

In SA, inflation moderated slightly from 5.3% y/y in March to 5.2% y/y in April, according to data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The primary contributors to the April headline inflation rate were housing and utilities, food, and transport. Meanwhile, inflation also eased in the US, UK, and Japan, while it remained stable in the Eurozone at 2.4% in April.

South Africa is experiencing rising unemployment, with an increase in the official unemployment rate from 32.1% in Q4 2023 to 32.9% in Q1 2024 as reported by Stats SA, marking a 0.8% uptick.

In a significant monetary policy shift, Sweden’s central bank cut its interest rates for the first time in eight years in early May, lowering the key rate from 4% to 3.75%. This marks the first instance this century where Sweden has eased its policy ahead of the US Federal Reserve. Conversely, the People’s Bank of China held its benchmark lending rates steady, maintaining the one-year loan prime rate at 3.45% and the five-year rate, which influences mortgage pricing, at 3.95%.

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