South Africa: Inflation dips below SARB's midpoint target in April

Consumer prices increased 0.6% from a month earlier in April, down from 0.8% in March. April’s outturn was mainly attributable to a slower rise in food prices, although this was offset by a faster rise in fuel costs. Core consumer prices, in turn, only rose 0.3%, down from 0.7% in March.

Inflation eased to 4.4% (March: 4.5%), landing below the midpoint of the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) target band of 3.0%–6.0%. Core inflation, meanwhile, slowed to 4.1% from 4.4% in March. Lastly, annual average inflation ticked down to 4.6% from 4.7%.

South Africa Inflation Forecast

The SARB sees inflation averaging 4.8% in 2019 and 5.3% in 2020. FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists see inflation averaging 4.8% in 2019, which is unchanged from last month’s forecast. Our panel sees inflation averaging 5.2% in 2020.