So far, 2024 presents a mixed picture for South Africa’s economy. Headline inflation is easing, but consumers have seen over a 5% increase in prices, largely due to rising costs in food, housing, utilities and transport.
As per IOL, the latest data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) shows a decline in annual consumer price inflation to 5.1% in December 2023, a drop from 5.5% in November and 5.9% in October.
Despite this decrease, consumers have experienced a general price increase of more than 5% over the past year, largely due to higher costs for food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing and utilities, goods and services and transportation.
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The silver lining appears in monthly comparisons. For instance, the inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages was 8.5% in December, slightly lower than November’s 9.0%.
Bread and cereal prices dipped by 0.2% between November and December, bringing their annual inflation rate to 7.5%.
Maize meal prices also decreased by 0.9%, with the average price of a 2kg bag dropping from R37.04 in November to R36.64 in December.
Oil and fat prices dropped by 5.9% in December, with cooking oil prices falling by 1.6% between November and December. The average price of a 750-ml bottle of sunflower oil stood at R35.82 in December, significantly lower than the July 2022 peak of R45.33.
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However, sugar prices continued to rise sharply. White sugar is now 20.1% more expensive than a year ago, and brown sugar is 26.6% more costly.
Other food items that have become more expensive include meat, milk, eggs, cheese, fish and fruit.
Meat inflation rose to 3.9% in December, with poultry products experiencing significant annual price increases. Chicken giblets, for instance, are up by 18.5%.
The inflation index for milk, eggs and cheese rose by 14.5% in the 12 months to December, surpassing November’s rate of 13.9%. Egg prices alone have surged by 38.0% over the year.
On the housing front, price inflation for housing and utilities hit 5.7%, the highest annual increase since May 2017. Both actual and imputed rentals saw a quarterly increase of 0.8%.
Transport costs have risen slower. The 12-month increase as of December 2023 was 2.6%, significantly lower than the 13.9% annual inflation rate of December 2022. This slowdown largely results from a decrease in fuel prices, which fell by 2.5% over the past year and by 2.7% between November and December.
In summary, while South Africa’s overall inflation is on a downward trend, specific areas, notably food, housing and utility costs, continue to place financial pressure on consumers.
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