South Africa’s November retail sales jump as consumer outlook improves

By Reuters

South African retail sales jumped in November as consumers benefited from last year’s interest rate cuts, declining inflation and a pension reform that allowed fund members to make partial withdrawals before retirement.

Statistics South Africa data showed on Wednesday that retail sales rose 7.7% year on year in November, quicker than October’s revised 6.2% gain and the 5.5% predicted by analysts.

The biggest contributors included clothes retailers and sellers of household furniture and appliances in a month when sales are typically boosted by Black Friday shopping.

Standard Bank’s head of macroeconomic research Elna Moolman said data showed payouts from the “two-pot” pension reform peaked in the second half of October, meaning consumers had more money to spend in November.

“We remain constructive about the outlook for consumers, which we assume will be supported by persistently low inflation and further interest rate relief from the Reserve Bank,” Moolman said.