Consumer inflation eases to 5.1% in June
Headline consumer inflation eased to 5.1% in June, Statistics South Africa announced on Wednesday.
This is slightly down from the 5.2% recorded in May.
June’s reading is the lowest since the peak of the Covid-19 lockdown in September 2020, when the rate was 3,8%.
Patrick Kelly, Chief Director for Price Statistics, said inflation remained within the 5% to 6% range for the past ten months.
"The annual rate for bread and cereals saw its first increase in 14 months, rising to 5.2% in June from 3.9% in May. 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 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%. PPIs are often leading indicators of the CPI, so the data suggest that elevated inflation for maize-based products is widespread.”
He said the milk, eggs and cheese category has experienced six months of slower inflation.
"The rate for June was 7,3%, down from 14.5% in December 2023. Annual egg inflation recorded its seventh consecutive month of decline, cooling to 20.4%.”
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