South Africa PPI Inflation Accelerates to 2.3% in March

South Africa's PPI inflation quickened to 2.3% in March 2026 from a seven-month low of 1.8% in the prior month. The biggest positive contributors were food products, beverages and tobacco products (2.2% vs 2.3% in February) and furniture and other manufacturing (14.1% vs 12.1%). Prices also accelerated for non-metallic mineral products (7.1% vs 6.5%); electrical machinery and communication and metering equipment (3.9% vs 2.5%) and transport equipment (1% vs 0.4%). At the same time, costs of coal and petroleum products decreased at a slower pace (-4.8% vs -8.9%).On a monthly basis, producer prices climbed by 1.1% in March, marking the strongest increase since March 2024, after being flat in the prior month.

South Africa's PPI inflation eased for the second month to 1.8% in February 2026, marking the lowest since July, compared to 2.2% in the prior month. Costs declined further for coal and petroleum products (-8.9% vs -4.1% in January), largely on account of fuels such as petrol (12.8% vs -5.3%) and diesel (-12.4% vs -4.8%). At the same time, price growth softened a bit for some items, including food products, beverages and tobacco products (2.3% vs 2.4%); paper and printed products (4.9% vs 5%) and furniture and other manufacturing (12.1% vs 12.2%). On a monthly basis, producer prices were flat, after decreasing by 0.2% in the previous month.

South Africa's PPI inflation was at 2.2% in January 2026, the lowest since August last year, down from a more-than-one-year high of 2.9% recorded in each of the prior three months. The slowdown was largely driven by falling fuel prices during the month, with petrol down 5.3% and gasoline down 4.8%. Prices of transportation equipment also decreased (-0.2% vs 1.6%). In the meantime, price growth moderated for food products, beverages and tobacco products (2.4% vs 2.9%). On a monthly basis, producer prices fell by 0.2% in January, after increasing by a similar margin in the previous month.