Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) has announced that the consumer price index (CPI) was 5.1% in June, down from 5.2% in May.
According to the agency, the main contributors to the inflation rate were housing and utilities, miscellaneous goods and services, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and transport.
“After stalling at 4.7% in April and May, the annual rate for food & non-alcoholic beverages (NAB) edged lower to 4.6% in June.
Food & NAB inflation has declined from its recent peak of 14.0% in March 2023.
June’s reading is the lowest since September 2020, 45 months ago at the peak of the COVID-19 lockdowns, when the rate was 3,8%,” said Patrick Kelly, Chief Director Price Statistics.
Kelly said several foods and NAB categories registered lower annual rates in June, including sugar, sweets and desserts, vegetables, fruit, milk, eggs, cheese and fish.
The monthly rate was 1.5%, with notable increases for maize products such as maize meal up 3.3% and samp up 3.0%.
“For some context, the producer price index (PPI) for final manufacturing, which measures prices at the factory gate, recorded a 7.2% monthly 4.6% annual increase for maize products in May.
Maize in the agriculture PPI increased by an annual 23.8%,” explained Kelly.
The milk, eggs and cheese category has experienced six months of slower inflation, with the rate for June was 7.3%, down from 14.5% in December 2023.
