South Africa’s annual inflation rate fell to a two-year low of 4.7% for the month of July from 5.4%.
The inflation figure is below market forecasts of 5%.
The moderation in inflation is largely attributed to declines in transport costs and a slowing on food inflation.
However, on a month-on-month basis, consumer prices increased by almost 1%, the most in four months.
This as municipalities raised electricity tariffs by more than 18% per cent with effect from last month.
Patrick Kelly from Statistics South Africa elaborates.
“The transport category helped pull overall inflation down in July. The annual rate for fuel was a negative 16.8. As a practical illustration if you have a car with a 50-litre tank, you’re spending R214 less on each fill up compared to a year ago. Food inflation has also eased. On average, households are paying 14.5% more for electricity and 9.6% more for water.”
Annual consumer price #inflation slumped to 4,7% in July from 5,4% in June, the lowest reading in two years.
Listen here for more:https://t.co/tHikbj3pSs
#StatsSA #CPI pic.twitter.com/3mqEPkNQHz— Stats SA (@StatsSA) August 23, 2023
