South Africa Inflation Rate Rises Less Than Expected

2025-10-22 08:18 By Luisa Carvalho 1 min. read

South Africa’s annual inflation rate ticked up to 3.4% in September 2025 from 3.3% in August, slightly below market forecasts of 3.5%.

It remains within the official South African Reserve Bank's target range of 3%-6%.

Price growth accelerated primarily for housing & utilities (4.5% vs 4.3% in August), largely on account of electricity and gas and water supply; restaurants & hotels (3% vs 2.6%) and miscellaneous goods & services (2.8% vs 2.6%).

At the same time, transportation costs declined at a slower pace (-0.1% vs -1.4%), of which fuels (-2.2% vs -5.7%).

Meanwhile, food prices (4.5% vs 5.2%) recorded the smallest increase in five months.

The core inflation rate, which excludes food, non-alcoholic beverages, fuel, and energy, inched up to a seven-month high of 3.2% in September 2025, from 3.1% in the prior month.

On a monthly basis, the CPI rose by 0.2% in September, following a 0.1% decrease in the prior month.



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