South Africa: Inflation drops to lowest level since May 2022 in January
Inflation came in at 6.9% in January, which was down from December’s 7.2%. January’s reading marked the lowest inflation rate since May 2022. Looking at the details of the release, the moderation was largely due to transportation price growth softening. Meanwhile, change in prices for housing and utilities was broadly steady in January. In contrast, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages grew at a faster rate.
Nevertheless, the trend pointed up, with annual average inflation ticking up to 7.0% in January (December: 6.9%). Meanwhile, core inflation was stable, coming in at December’s 4.9% in January.
Lastly, consumer prices fell 0.09% in January over the previous month, contrasting December’s 0.37% increase. January’s result marked the weakest reading since May 2020.