ED RICHARDSON INTEREST RATE hikes are yet to hit South African consumers according to the latest findings by Stats SA and economists. Stats SA measures consumer demand according to statistics contained in the retail, wholesale and motor trade reports. Interestingly, all three showed a recovery in the growth rate in July, after the South African Reserve Bank made its first interest rate announcement in June. “The larger part of the consumer market is still benefiting from good wage gains,” says Cees Bruggemans, chief economist at FNB.
