Consumer inflation in South Africa plunged to its lowest in four years in October, driven lower by declining fuel and food prices.
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) today said that the annual consumer price index (CPI) cooled for a fifth consecutive month and declined sharply from 3.8% year-on-year in September to 2.8% October.
October’s inflation print is the lowest since June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when the rate was 2.2%.
Stats SA’s chief director of price statistics, Patrick Kelly, said falling fuel prices remained the primary factor behind the slowdown.
“Petrol and diesel prices declined by 5.3% between September and October, taking the annual rate for fuel to -19.1%. The price for inland 95-octane petrol in October was R21.05, the cheapest since February 2022 when the price was R20.14,” Kelly said.
“The aggregate transport index decreased by an annual 5.3%, pulling overall inflation down by 0.8 of a percentage point.”
After remaining steady for six months in the 4.5–4.7% range, annual inflation for food & non-alcoholic beverages (NAB) retreated to 3.6% in October.
This is the lowest rate since November 2019 when the food inflation rate was 3.5%.
“Inflation cooled for most food & NAB subcategories in October, except for sugar, sweets and desserts and cold beverages,” Kelly said.
“The price index for bread and cereals declined by 0.5% between September and October, dragging the annual rate down to 4.6%. A range of bread and cereal products were cheaper in October compared with September.
“Most notably, maize meal prices decreased by 2.0%, representing a third consecutive month of decline. Consumers also paid less on average for other key products such as spaghetti, macaroni, rice and samp.”
Stats SA also said the annual inflation for milk, eggs and cheese dipped steeply to 4.1% in October from 6.9% in September. The monthly rate was -0.2%, with price decreases recorded for milk products, yoghourt, and cheddar cheese.
Bucking the trend, prices for custard, sour milk, eggs and mageu were higher in October compared with September.
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