South Africa: Inflation moderates in January
Consumer prices rose 0.3% in January over the previous month, coming in below the 0.5% month-on-month increase in December. January’s reading reflects a 1.3% increase in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages which more than offset lower prices for transport.
Inflation moderated from December’s 4.7% to 4.4% in January, coming in below market analysts’ expectations of 4.5%. Inflation lies within the Central Bank’s target range of 3.0%–6.0%, where it has been since April 2017. Meanwhile, annual average inflation declined from 5.3% in December to 5.1% in January.
Core consumer prices—which exclude food, non-alcoholic beverages, energy and gasoline—came in at 0.2% in January, marginally below December’s 0.3% increase. Core inflation in January inched down from 4.2% in December to 4.1%, the lowest print since December 2011.