Oil price implications for inflation, and SA’s poor growth performance

Loading player...
In this podcast, STANLIB’s Chief Economist, Kevin Lings, discusses how the war in the Middle East, now in its 17th day and going on longer than most people anticipated, continues to affect the oil price. At over $100 and with no end in sight to the war in the short term, there are implications for inflation, with most central banks not contemplating interest rate cuts and a risk-off trade unfolding on markets. US inflation data still looks good, but has yet to factor in the oil price. He also discusses SA’s GDP performance for the fourth quarter, which brought SA’s economic growth to 1.1% last year. A substantial increase in petrol and diesel could undermine SA’s growth dynamics.
STANLIB Asset Management (Pty) Ltd is an authorised Financial Services Provider in terms of the FAIS Act. This should not be construed as advice.
16 Mar English South Africa Investing · Business News

Other recent episodes

US economy still growing jobs; SA heads for municipal coalitions

The US economy continues to add jobs, with unemployment falling to 4.1% and little evidence that AI is reducing employment. In South Africa, the local government election results point to a changing political landscape and the possibility of municipal coalitions across several provinces. In this podcast, STANLIB Chief Economist Kevin…
9 Nov 15 min

US economic growth broadens in Q3; SA’s GDP bigger than previously estimated

In this podcast, STANLIB’s Chief Economist, Kevin Lings, discusses the areas of strength and weakness in US GDP growth of 3.4% in Q3 2026, which was relatively broad-based. He also explores why the Fed decided to hold interest rates unchanged. Kevin discusses Stats SA’s re-basing and recalculation of GDP, which…
2 Nov 16 min

SA is not yet seeing second-round inflation effects: Kevin Lings

In this podcast, STANLIB’s Chief Economist, Kevin Lings, analyses the details behind SA’s below-expectation increase in inflation in September, to an annual rate of 4.5% from 4.4%. While fuel inflation is 27.9% y/y, it has not yet fed into other categories – e.g. food inflation is only 1% y/y, though…
26 Oct 10 min

MTBPS 2026 shows evidence of positive fiscal progress

In this podcast, Kevin Lings, Chief Economist at STANLIB Asset Management, highlights what was positive and what was disappointing in today’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement. He discusses how achievable the revenue and expenditure targets are, and stresses the need for stronger policy measures to push SA’s growth rate up to…
21 Oct 16 min