South Africa: Inflation comes in at highest level since March 2017 in December
Consumer prices rose 0.57% over the previous month in December, picking up from the 0.49% increase seen in November. December’s uptick marked the highest reading since July. Looking at the details of the release, prices for housing and utilities, as well as for food and non-alcoholic beverages increased at faster rates in December. Meanwhile, transportation prices grew at a softer pace.
Inflation rose to 5.9% in December, above November’s 5.5%. December’s result marked the highest inflation rate since March 2017. Annual average inflation rose to 4.6% in December (November: 4.3%). Lastly, core inflation rose to 3.4% in December, from the previous month’s 3.3%.