South Africa: Inflation rises in June as rand tumbles
Consumer prices rose 0.4% from a month earlier in June, on the heels of May’s 0.2% rise. June’s reading was driven largely by rising fuel costs, while higher prices for housing and utilities contributed marginally. As such, core consumer prices—which exclude food and energy prices—rose 0.2% from a month earlier.
Inflation climbed to 4.6% from 4.4 in May, undershooting analysts’ expectations as upside risks from the weak rand—which had its worst month in more than two years in June—failed to entirely materialize. Meanwhile, core inflation eased, dipping to 4.2% in June from 4.4%. For its part, annual average inflation ticked down to 4.5% from 4.6%.