Consumer inflation surges to two-year high of 5.0% in June
Escalating fuel prices and sharp public transport fare hikes pushed South Africa's headline inflation rate to its highest mark since mid-2024, despite continued relief at grocery checkouts.
South Africa’s annual consumer inflation climbed to 5.0% in June, up from 4.5% in May, marking the highest rate recorded since June 2024’s 5.1%. On a month-to-month basis, average prices grew by 0.7% between May and June.
Transport was the main driver of the overall upward shift, as its annual rate accelerated to 12.7% from 9.4% in May. Fuel prices surged by 34.3% over the past 12 months, underpinned by a 50.8% jump in diesel and a 31.7% rise in petrol.
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These fuel increases triggered an 8.1% monthly jump in passenger transport costs, pushing its annual rate to 12.5%. The month saw notable fare increases across minibus taxis (+11.5%), e-hailing services (+8.7%), long-distance buses (+8.4%), and school transport (+3.7%).
Conversely, annual food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation slowed to 1.6% in June from 1.9% in May.
Cereal products experienced a fifth straight month of deflation at -1.5%, with key staples dropping in price compared to last year, including white rice (-13.4%), maize meal (-5.9%), samp (-1.5%), and porridge (-1.3%).
Meat inflation moderated to 5.1%, down from a peak of 13.5% in January. Beef mince inflation cooled to 3.9%, while stewing beef prices declined by 2.7%.
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However, pork remained high at 13.9%, mutton and lamb rose to 8.4%, and processed meats saw double-digit growth, including sausages (11.8%) and corned meat (10.2%), alongside bacon at 8.6%. Hot beverages reached an annual rate of 7.4%, with black tea at 8.3% and instant coffee at 7.0%.
The largest annual price increases among food items were recorded for pork, tomatoes, sausages, corned meat, and hake. In contrast, seasonal fruit, beetroot, white rice, potatoes, and dried beans registered the biggest year-on-year drops.
Lastly, housing rent data for the second quarter showed a 1.1% increase from the first quarter, taking annual rental growth to 4.1%. Over the past 12 months, townhouse rents rose by 5.4%, flats by 4.6%, and houses by 3.7%.
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