Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has announced that the annual consumer price index (CPI) inflation dropped from 5.6% in February to 5.3% in March.
According to Stats SA this is the biggest increase in two-months.
The rate has been lingering between 5% and 6% since September 2023.
“The categories with the highest annual price changes in March were miscellaneous goods & services increased by 8,5%, education increased by 6,3%, health increased by 6,0% and housing and utilities increased by 5,9%,” said the Chief Director for Price Statistics at Stats SA, Patrick Kelly
The figures also revealed that it is expensive to educate a child this year when compared to 2023.
“Overall, education was 6,3% more expensive in 2024 than it was in 2023.
This exceeds the 5,7% annual increase in 2023 and is the highest since 2020 when the rate was 6,4%.
High schools recorded the most significant increase in 2024 by 7,3%, followed by primary schools and tertiary institutions which both increased by 5,9%.
Crèches increased their fees by 6,0%, while University boarding is on average 8,2% more expensive than a year ago,” explained Kelly.
The entity said the increase in miscellaneous goods and services was mainly driven by higher health insurance premiums, recorded in February.
“Inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages slowed to 5,1% in March from 6,1% in February.
This is down from its recent peak of 14,0% in March 2023, and is the lowest annual increase since September 2020 when the rate was 3,8%.
Bread and cereals registered a softer annual print of 5,0% from February’s 6,1%,” noted Kelly.
Bread flour, pasta, rusks, maize meal, ready-mix flour, and white bread are cheaper than a year ago.
There was good news for meat lovers as the meat inflation also cooled in March on the back of lower beef and mutton prices.
Annual inflation for sugar, sweets and desserts has remained above the 15,0% level since June 2023.
According to Stats SA, products with the most significant annual price increases include brown sugar increase by 22,0%, white sugar increase by 20,1%, chocolate slabs increase by 17,9% and chocolate bars increase by 15,9%.
The transport index rose by 2,0% between February and March, mainly due to a monthly rise of 5,3% in fuel prices.
