Consumer inflation quickens to 5% in June
Annual inflation rose to 5% in June, driven by sharply higher fuel and transport costs, while easing food inflation and lower prices for staples such as rice and maize meal offered consumers some relief.
South Africans are facing another cost-of-living blow, after inflation climbed to its highest level since June 2024.
It jumped to 5% last month, up from 4.5% in May, while prices rose by 0.7% month-on-month.
Stats SA's Chief Director for Price Statistics, Patrick Kelly, said transport was the biggest contributor, with fuel prices rising by more than 34% in the past year.
“Its annual rate accelerated to 12.7% in June from 9.4% in May. Fuel prices climbed by 34.3% in the past 12 months, driven by increases of 50.8% in diesel and 31.7% in petrol. Higher fuel prices have had a knock-on effect on passenger transport inflation, which registered a monthly rise of 8.1% in June. This took the annual rate for the category to 12.5% from 4% in May,” said Kelly.
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He added that minibus taxi fares increased by 11.5% in June alone, while e-hailing services, long-distance buses and school transport also became more expensive.
There was, however, some relief for consumers at the grocery till, with food inflation coming down to 1.6% from 1.9% in May.
“Some items that are cheaper than a year ago are white rice, lower by 13.4% percent, maize meal by 5.9%, and porridge by 1.3%. Meat inflation also extended a downward trend, moderating further to 5.1% from a recent peak of 13.5% in January this year.”
