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South Africa’s inflation rate, has eased from a record high of 7.8 percent in July to 7.6 percent in August 2022, thanks to dropping in fuel prices, according to StatsSA
South Africa’s inflation rate has eased from a record high of 7.8 percent in July to 7.6 percent in August 2022, thanks to dropping in fuel prices, according to StatsSA, the country’s statistical agency. There was a massive protest against inflation last month in Pretoria, taken by thousands of workers. The agitation was also focused on increased electricity prices and unemployment, two nagging problems people are facing.
StatsSA also said that the monthly increase in the consumer price index was 0.2%, the lowest since January 2022 thanks to the welcome drop in fuel prices. The overall transport index fell by 1.0% between July and August. Fuel prices fell 3.8 percent between July and August, with gasoline down 5.0 percent and diesel down 0.9 percent.
Inflation has reached its highest level in recent times in many countries in Africa. The war in Ukraine was a major contributory factor to inflation. Food prices, however, have shown an opposite trend. It continued to rise in South Africa at 11.3 percent in August from a year earlier, up from 9.7 percent in July. Bread and cereals recorded a 3.1% increase between July and August. The annual rate of inflation increased from 13.7% to 17.8%.
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In July, the central bank attempted to stabilize inflation by raising its policy rate by 75 basis points to 5.5 percent. It was the largest increase in a decade. The country’s economic growth contracted to suggest a slowdown to the extent of 1.3% in 2023. However, it is expected to rebound to 1.5% in 2024.
