Consumer inflation eases slightly in November

Stats SA said on Wednesday that CPI came in at 7.4% - a decrease of 0.2% from October.

The organisation's Patrick Kelly says transport costs once again showed a decline. 

"The annual rate declined to 15.3% in November from 17.1% in October. This is largely the result of falling fuel prices in recent months, with annual inflation reaching 25.3% in November compared with 30.1% in October. 

"However, fuel prices increased by 3.2% between October and November—a smaller rise than the 7.1% jump between October and November 2021. Used vehicle prices continue to increase rapidly, with monthly increases of approximately 1.3% since the beginning of this year."

On the other hand, inflation was spurred on by food and non-alcoholic beverage prices.

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"Food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation climbed to 12.5% in November from 12% in October, representing the seventh consecutive month of accelerating price inflation. This rising trend is mainly driven by inflation in bread and cereals, which reached an annual rate of 19.9% in November, up from 19.5% in October. This is notably higher than the modest 2.3% recorded in November 2021," said Kelly.

"The average price of a 2,5 kg bag of maize meal was R34,08 in November, up from R33,82 in October and R25,591 12 months ago. On average, the price for a loaf of white bread increased to R18,68 in November from R18,54 in October. A year ago, the price was R15,68.

"The annual rate for meat was 10.5% in November, unchanged from 10.5% in October. Bacon and other pork products increased by 6,4% and 1,9% respectively between October and November."