South Africa’s Q4 spending growth slows to annualised 0.3 pct

PRETORIA (Reuters) – Spending in South Africa grew at an annualised 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014 after rising 3.2 percent in the prior quarter, with slowed government spending offsetting accelerated growth in household spending, the central bank said on Tuesday.The Reserve Bank said in its quarterly bulletin that spending by the government increased at an annualised 1.0 percent in the final quarter against 1.4 percent in the third quarter.However, household spending grew at an annualised 1.6 percent from 1.1 percent quarter-on-quarter.”The higher level of spending by consumers can be ascribed to an increase in the disposable income of the household sector following a moderate rise in compensation of employees over the period,” the central bank said.But on a year-on-year basis, household spending grew at a slower rate of 1.4 percent in 2014 from 2.9 percent in 2013 as striking workers in the mining and manufacturing sectors went without salaries, among other issues.Last year’s annual increase in household spending was the lowest rate of growth since 2009, the bank said.