South Africa: Inflation slows in July from June
Latest reading: Consumer prices increased 4.3% in annual terms in July, following a 5.0% increase in the previous month. The reading marked the first decrease in inflation since February, and the decline was slightly sharper than the markets had expected. Still, inflation remained above the 2.0–4.0% target range of the South African Reserve Bank.
Relative to the prior month’s figures, there were milder price pressures for housing and utilities (+5.2% in annual terms vs +5.5% in June), food and non-alcoholic beverages (+0.9% vs +1.6% in June) and transportation (+8.9% vs +12.7% in June).
Meanwhile, core consumer prices rose 4.2% in annual terms in July, following a 4.1% increase in the prior month.
Finally, consumer prices were up 0.19% in July in month-on-month terms, following a 0.75% increase in the previous month.