South Africa’s CPI inflation eases to four-month low of 5.2%

Annual consumer price inflation in South Africa has eased to 5.2% in April from 5.3% in March, data by Statistics South Africa showed.

It has been the lowest inflation rate since December 2023.

April has also been the 11th consecutive month, when the annual inflation rate remains within the South African Reserve Bank’s target range of 3%-6%.

In comparison, market consensus had pointed to a steady CPI inflation at 5.3%.

In April, inflation has moderated for miscellaneous goods & services (7.2% YoY versus 8.5% YoY in March), alcoholic beverages & tobacco (4.3% YoY versus 4.5% YoY in March) and housing & utilities (5.8% YoY compared to 5.9% YoY in March).

Prices rose at a faster rate for restaurants & hotels (7.5% YoY versus 5.7% YoY in March) and transportation (5.7% YoY versus 5.3% YoY in March).

Meanwhile, the country’s annual core CPI inflation, which excludes volatile categories such as food and non-alcoholic beverages, fuels and energy, decelerated to 4.6% in April from 4.9% in March.

In month-over-month terms, consumer prices in South Africa went up 0.3% in April, following a 0.8% rise in March.

The South African Rand weakened 0.57% on the day against the US Dollar, with the USD/ZAR currency pair last trading at 18.1717.