File
Annual consumer inflation dropped to 4.7% in July from 5.4% in June, the lowest reading since July 2021, when the rate was 4.6%.
Statistics South Africa reported on Wednesday that, consumer prices increased on average by 0.9% between June 2023 and July 2023, up from the monthly rise of 0.2% recorded in both May and June.
Stats SA says the transport sector, previously a major driver of inflation, helped to pull overall inflation down in July.
"In 2021 and 2022, overall inflation was mainly pushed higher by transport, as shown in the chart below. Headline consumer inflation hit a 13-year high of 7.8% in July 2022, with transport contributing 44% (3.4 percentage points) to the headline rate," Stats SA said.
Instead, it said the impact of fuel prices was largely to blame, saying the "decline in fuel prices weakened the upward push of transport on consumer inflation."
Stats SA said the annual rate for fuel was negative at -16,8% in July 2023, which dragged the transport category down into negative territory for the first time since January 2021.
Food inflation has also eased, but not as quickly as transport, with annual meat inflation declining for a fifth consecutive month, easing to 5.1%. Coffee and sugar were also up.
Stats SA says the annual inflation rate for municipal tariffs conducted in July shows that the housing and utilities index increased by 2.8% between June and July.
"On average, households are paying 14.5% more for electricity. Water tariffs increased by 9.6% and property rates by 2.9%. A final picture will emerge in the August consumer price index (CPI) release with the completion of the survey."
