Statistics South Africa on Wednesday announced that the country’s consumer price index (CPI) was 6.0% in July 2016, down from 6.30% in June. The index increased by 0.8% month-on-month (m\/m) in July 2016.<\/p>\n
Housing and utilities decreased from 1.6 percentage points in June to 1.4 percentage points in July. The index increased by 5.8% year-on-year (y\/y).<\/p>\n
Food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 0.1 of a percentage point in July. The index increased by 0.5% m\/m, mainly due to a 2.7% increase in sugar, sweets and desserts, a 1.1% increase in milk, eggs and cheese and a 0.8% increase in bread and cereals.<\/p>\n
Housing and utilities contributed 0.6 of a percentage point in July. The index increased by 2.4% m\/m, mainly due to a 10.1% increase in water tariffs, a 5.5% increase in assessment rates and a 7.5% increase in electricity tariffs.<\/p>\n
Transport contributed 0.1 of a percentage point in July. The index increased by 0.8% m\/m, mainly due to the 11 cents per litre increase in the petrol price.<\/p>\n
In July the CPI for goods increased by 6,5% year-on-year (down from 6,7% in June), and the CPI for services increased by 5.7% y\/y (down from 5,8% in June).<\/p>\n
Provincial annual inflation rates ranged from 4.8% in Northern Cape to 7.9% in Limpopo.<\/p>\n
Overberg Asset Management said in its weekly overview of the economic and political landscape in South Africa that it expected CPI to moderate slightly from 6.3% year-on-year in June to 6.1% in July, according to the consensus forecast<\/p>\n
“However, CPI Is unlikely to break below the SA Reserve Bank\u2019s (Sarb’s) 3-6% target range over the foreseeable future due to the lingering effect of drought-induced food price increases and high administered price increases such as municipal rates and electricity. The Sarb expects CPI to remain above the target range until the third quarter 2017, ” it said.<\/p>\n
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