SA inflation climbs, reducing chance of rate cut

South African inflation quickened to a 10-month high in July, reducing the chance of another interest-rate cut when policymakers meet next month.

Consumer prices rose 3.5% from a year earlier, compared with 3% in the prior month, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.

That matched the median estimate of 15 economists in a Bloomberg survey.

The reading is the first since the central bank’s monetary policy committee announced its preference for inflation to settle at the floor of its 3% to 6% target range and will likely convince the monetary authority to keep official interest rates on hold to support that goal, Yvonne Mhango, Africa economist for Bloomberg Economics, said before the release.

Governor Lesetja Kganyago earlier this month said he expects inflation to pick up in the coming months before returning to around 3% in the medium term.

The yield on South