November producer price inflation at 5.2% came in below market expections of 5.5% year on year.
Investec economist Annabel Bishop says this was due to a lower-than-expected rise in the contribution from mining and quarrying and agriculture.
Most food components recorded upward price pressure, and food price inflation at the manufacturing level came out at 11.1% year-on-year which would add to the upward pressure on consumer price inflation.
Bishop said she did not expect the SA Reserve Bank to cut interest rates in 2013.
CPI inflation would potentially only fall within the inflation target range in the second half of next year, although it would still likely be close to the upper limit during that period.
