Global Economic Trends and Local Insights

September brought renewed focus on inflation and interest rates. The US Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the South African Reserve Bank all raised policy rates, while higher energy prices added pressure to household and business costs. For South African investors, the key themes were a higher repo rate, slightly firmer consumer inflation and weaker private-sector business activity. Internationally, slower Chinese growth, softer US employment data and geopolitical risks continued to influence currencies and investor confidence.