BL Premium reports that SA’s headline consumer inflation slowed to its lowest reading in 20 months, falling to within the Reserve Bank 3-6% target range. Stats SA on Wednesday said the consumer price index (CPI) fell to 5.4% in June from 6.3% in May.

Of the 12 main categories covered by the CPI, six saw a drop in annual inflation in June, one remained unchanged and five recorded increases. On an annual basis, food inflation slowed to 11.1% from 11.8% in May, 14.3% in April and a peak of 14.4% in March. At 11.1%, food inflation continues to be extremely high and a clear concern given its high weighting of 15.3% in the inflation basket. The annual inflation rate for alcoholic beverages and tobacco increased to 6.1% from 5.9% in May. Other notable price changes in June included annual transport inflation, which fell from 7% in May to 1.8% in June as a result of softer fuel prices. Stats SA data showed that the fuel index fell by 8.3% in June 2023 compared with June 2022. Annual core inflation also fell, reaching a five-month low of 5% in June from 5.2% in May. Stanlib chief economist Kevin Lings said that while the decline in core inflation was welcome, risks that might affect it on the upside included an upward bias in wage increases, the pending 18.65% increase in electricity tariffs and continued cost pressures due to electricity outages.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thuletho Zwane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
• Read too, Relief as inflation falls below 6%, at Fin24

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page