In November, consumer prices increased 0.1% month-on-month, coming in below the 0.3% rise observed in October. November’s increase reflected higher prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, which more than offset lower prices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco and clothing and footwear.
Inflation moderated from 4.8% in October to 4.6% in November, remaining within the Central Bank’s target range of 3.0%–6.0%, where it has been since April 2017. Meanwhile, annual average inflation edged down from 5.6% in October to 5.4% in November.
Core consumer prices—which exclude food, non-alcoholic beverages, energy, and gasoline—edged down from a 0.1% month-on-month increase in October to a flat reading in November. Core inflation in November inched down to 4.4% from 4.5% in October.
FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect inflation to average 5.1% in 2018, which is unchanged from last month’s forecast. In 2019, the panel sees average inflation edging up to 5.3%.
South Africa Inflation Chart
Note: Annual and monthly variation of consumer prices index in %.
Source: Statistics South Africa and FocusEconomics calculations.
