South Africa: Inflation ticks up in August
Inflation inched up to 4.8% in August from July’s 4.7%. Despite the uptick, inflation remained comfortably within the South African Reserve Bank (SARB)’s 3.0–6.0% target band and was largely in line with market analysts’ expectations. Looking at the details of the release, prices for housing and utilities increased at a faster pace in August. This more than offset prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages increasing at a slower rate.
Still, the trend pointed down, with annual average inflation falling to 6.5% in August (July: 6.8%). Meanwhile, core inflation ticked up to 4.8% in August, from the previous month’s 4.7%.
Finally, consumer prices increased 0.27% in August over the previous month, below July’s 0.91% rise.