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South Africa inflation dips as growth slows

South Africa’s inflation last month dipped to 4.0 percent, its lowest level since January, the statistics agency said Wednesday.

“Annual consumer price inflation was 4,0 percent in July 2019, down from 4,5 percent in June 2019,” said StatsSA.

The decline was attributed to prices of food and transport slowing down.

The central bank’s target for annual inflation is between three and six percent.

“The latest inflation figures from South Africa are certainly good news for the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and the economy as a whole,” said Lukman Otunuga, analyst at FXTM, in a note.

Africa’s most industrialised economy has been slowing, with a GDP growth forecast of just 0.6 percent this year.

The economy has hit trouble, with gross domestic product (GDP) contracting by 3.2 percent in the first three months of 2019 and unemployment at an 11-year record high of 29 percent

Last month the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) cut key interest rate for the first time since March 2018 in a bid to boost the contracting economy.